100 WORST Simpsons moments

List MOMENTS only, not entire seasons or "everything after so-and-so" or "last night's episode"

1. Writers update the timeline by 20 years so Homer was in a grunge band called Sadgasm after high school

2. Halloween episode where they all the most annoying celebrities get blasted into the sun and Spike Lee and Al Sharpton are on board.

3. Sideshow Bob now has a son who chants the catchphrase "VENDETTA! VENDETTA!" over and over.

4. When they made a Bart Simpson Macy's balloon and they were real cheeky about showing it off on the show.

5. Homer walks into a Subway, sees woman drowning at soda machine, doesn't offer to help her, eats 12 inch instead

6. introduction of "gil"

7. second appearance of disco stu

8. bleedin gums murphy smiling down at lisa from heaven or whatever happened in that one

9. - 100. simpsons threads on the internet

everything post-season eight is a good contender except LINGUO

9. that horrible song the navy boyband sings that makes me want to blow my brains out
10. homer's trip to NYC to pay off the parking tickets -- i think this was the first episode with some new animators, and it shows, and theyre terrible

LOL @ 6 and 8 jesus yes that jazzman song ugh

i thought people liked Gil?

Carl breaking the fifth wall: "See this is why I don't talk much"

not seen it but Grandpa and Selma dating can't have been good

Homer being able to compete with Tony Hawk at anti-gravity skateboarding

xpost. i like old Gil.

introduction of "gil"

― s1ocki, Friday, 23 January 2009 16:19 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

NO

7. second appearance of disco stu

― s1ocki, Friday, 23 January 2009 16:19 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

NO WAY

8. bleedin gums murphy smiling down at lisa from heaven or whatever happened in that one

― s1ocki, Friday, 23 January 2009 16:20 (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Yeah I'll give you that one

Tony Blair appearance

Ricky Gervais appearance

Maggie rescuing Homer from drowning

anything with lisa and homer, i.e. lisa and homer at the museum and they discover a magical Egyptian artifact/music box

14. The episode where Marge becomes a roided up body builder and... err... actually seems to force Homer into having sex with her in the most fucking awkward way.

15. the stupid weedsploitation ending of the laddie episode
16. "to alcohol -- the cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems" becoming every nimrod's favorite quote of all time

that wasn't so bad Que

10. homer's trip to NYC to pay off the parking tickets -- i think this was the first episode with some new animators, and it shows, and theyre terrible

dude this has the crab juice joke, homer driving with the boot on his car, etc etc

killing off Maude. so retarded.

The tune from that Egyptian music box is great.

xxp to que cheap. the only good joke in that ep is when homer throws his wallet in the fire

also i agree that music box tune is rad

Killing off Maude was cruel and unnecessary i.e. pretty funny, but it also paved the way for some decent Flanders storylines. And Maude and Helen Lovejoy were more or less indistinguishable anyway.

anything with lisa and homer,

fixed

I think the Maude death episode is the first one I never laughed once at. And not even in a 'oh its so emotional i won't laff' type way, it was just too boring.

18. Krusty's flashback to when he fought in the Gulf War. yeah whatever guys.

man that NYC episode is one of my favorites

19. Everyone loves the Obese Homer episode, but the moment he looked down from his computer after pressing the Tab key and asked, "Now where's my Tab?" that's when I realized the magic was fading a bit.

9. - 100. simpsons threads on the internet

― congratulations (n/a), Friday, January 23, 2009 4:21 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

nice one - we all feel super-ashamed now

^ wow what a hardass xp

que -- go watch the one where milhouse takes barts soul!

oh that's an awesome one, yr right

20. N/A guest appearance

19. Everyone loves the Obese Homer episode, but the moment he looked down from his computer after pressing the Tab key and asked, "Now where's my Tab?" that's when I realized the magic was fading a bit.

― •--• --- --- •--• (Pleasant Plains), Friday, January 23, 2009 4:28 PM (38 seconds ago) Bookmark

bad joke, good ep

lisa it's your birthday
happy birthday lisa

21. That episode where it turns out racing jockeys are elves who inside a tree stump?!

*live inside

^^^ Yeah, even I thought this was iffy.

when they went to the Super Bowl, and Bart gets thrown a football from Dan Marino..."I'm about to catch a pass from Dan Marino...this is the greatest moment of my life!"...since when has Bart EVER expressed an interest in sports of any kind?

see i may not agree w mr que, but he's really going for big game, not sniping about post-season 10 BS

oh come on xp

22. Frank Grimes Jr. tries to kill Homer but fails

22. just saw this for the first time last night: the son of Frank Grimes comes back and tries to kill Homer (which, even if you're a fan of "Homer's Enemy," c'mon)

lol xpost

whenever they make fun of homeless people. The Simpsons writers really don't like the homeless.

or the poor. or working women. Actually wait a second, the Simpsons is really, really conservative.

a friend of mine always hated the "HELLOO? Human FLY here!" bit in the B Sharps episode

23. That Super Bowl episode is great if only for the Blur "Song #2" sequence and the bad dubbing at Moe's of Carl going "I hope that [DENVER] wins."

although i lolled at "Frank Grimes didn't have a son!" "He liked hookers, OK?"

^^ Guess I didn't need to number that. xp

whoa whoa yes frank grimes sucked so hard

whenever they bring back someone who's only been on one previous episode, i.e. Lurleen Lumpkin or Frank Grimes' son or whatever

Frank Grimes was great. The Simpsons espousing social values that would make William F. Buckley Jr. feel ashamed for them, that's the worst.

24. Manjula has octuplets

2. Halloween episode where they all the most annoying celebrities get blasted into the sun and Spike Lee and Al Sharpton are on board.

RONG. That segment was great.

since when has Bart EVER expressed an interest in sports of any kind?

When he took on Rod (or Todd?) Flanders in putt-putt golf? When he and Lisa both played hockey? When he was trying to learn to throw a pass properly and Joe Namath taught him about vapor lock? When he built a soapbox derby racer? SKATEBOARDING?

25. When they show the crazy cat lady's origin, and it's because she was "trying to have it all" as a working woman, and thus the natural result of that was going insane.

The only woman hero in the Simpsons is Marge. All other working women are shown as deviants or super aggressive, unfeminine preditor.

Great, now I"m starting to hate the Simpsons. Best case scenario it's parody, but they make fun of poor people, the homeless, etc., so much on that show that it's basically in line with their sense of humor.

-other. Marge is the female hero because her only life is family and her husband. Fuck the Simpsons.

well cool. lets talk more about the show though

ladies and gentleman, mr bart_simpson

artie ziff ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

2. Halloween episode where they all the most annoying celebrities get blasted into the sun and Spike Lee and Al Sharpton are on board.

RONG. That segment was great.

Segment was funny yes, but I always thought it was a little fucked up that the writers lumped two outspoken and talented pro-black figures in with Pauly Shore and Tom Arnold for "most annoying people on the planet"

26. The YEESSSSSSSS guy.

27. When the football place kicker's leg comes off because Homer ran over it.

"Jazz Man" makes me cringe every time.

28. When Comic Book Guy went out with Skinner's mother.

15. the stupid weedsploitation ending of the laddie episode

Classic just for Wigham singing along to Jammin.

BART !! by far

― the pinefox, Friday, July 25, 2008 1:55 PM (5 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lollll from the "Worst Simpsons Character" thread

15. the stupid weedsploitation ending of the laddie episode

Classic just for Wigham singing along to Jammin.

― chap, Friday, January 23, 2009 5:06 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

dude its WIGGUM

lol brits

you just posting that on threads where it's not even relevant now?

Simpslebone

The one where Lisa becomes a vegan, and the one where she converts to Buddhism. Lisa being self-righteous is the worst.

The one where Lisa becomes a vegan

nah brah

yeah that episode is dope despite her being annoying

29. Moe gets plastic surgery (this isn't really a moment tho sure...so how about the bit where his face reverts back to how it was or however they dug themselves out of this)

29 Tokyo

Nah, because the self-righteous Lisa episodes are always tempered with people TELLING HER she's being self-righteous. Its a good message for the Simpsons libertarian fanbase to occassionally hear

30. whatever the Brazilian tourist board complained about

31. "The Simpsons are going to Africa!"

I was shown the Africa episode in class and for those 20 minutes I could sleep while hungover at uni, I will always be grateful.

cambridge is really going to the dogs.

29. Moe gets plastic surgery

I just watched this one yesterday and it was major LOLs.

Surely you mean "cambridge is really going to release the hounds"?

32. Toilet in US embassy in Australia has machine to make it flush anticlockwise or whatever. Coriolis force is not evident at those scales, duh </sadpedant>

33. The boot-to-the-ass punishment in the same episode

Simpsons libertarian fanbase

waht?

Lisa is a libertarian?

32. Toilet in US embassy in Australia has machine to make it flush anticlockwise or whatever. Coriolis force is not evident at those scales, duh </sadpedant>

33. The boot-to-the-ass punishment in the same episode

abso-fucking-lutely NOT. Aussie episode is perfect.

The worst Simpsons moments are every time a lesson is learned.

Knifey-spooney is one of the best jokes ever.

xpost

Coffee: B-E-E-R

guards eating the american flag

I would've called them snazzwozzers

34. Any time that stupid ignorant thoughtless selfish fuck Homer gets away with treating people, especially his own family, like shit.

I saw Homie The Clown yesterday and I got really annoyed for like five seconds that the mob bosses just happened to have loop, and then just got on with enjoying it.

The worst Simpsons moments are every time a lesson is learned.

^^truthbomb

but it's even worse when no lesson is learned by anyone or is unheeded

and I got really annoyed for like five seconds that the mob bosses just happened to have loop

lololol never even occurred to me (episode too awesome to care obv)

the mob bosses just happened to have loop

it fell out of a clown truck

but it's even worse when no lesson is learned by anyone or is unheeded

― Bondzilla vs Mechaholmes (blueski)

The Old Man and the Lisa flies in the face of that theory.

29. Moe gets plastic surgery (this isn't really a moment tho sure...so how about the bit where his face reverts back to how it was or however they dug themselves out of this)

― Bondzilla vs Mechaholmes (blueski), Friday, January 23, 2009 11:16 AM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I always thought these episodes where they go, "ok, we did this massive, absurd, what-if sort of story, so uh, well, let's quick back to normal for continuity's sake! ha ha", were at least sort of charming and ultimately not a big deal imo.

I don't remember the episode well, so maybe it wasn't really all that great, but um...yeah, so hey.

It's classic just for Moe's reaction to being turned down for the soap opera role originally: "I've been called ugly, pug-ugly, fugly, pug-fugly, but I ain't never been called ugly-ugly."

oh how could we forget

35. Armin Tamzarian

liked that episode tho. "are you asking me out?"

Beat me to #35

"up yours, children!"

but it's even worse when no lesson is learned by anyone or is unheeded

― Bondzilla vs Mechaholmes (blueski)

The Old Man and the Lisa flies in the face of that theory.

― Women can be captains too, you know? (jim), Friday, January 23, 2009 5:40 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark

homer's knees buckling after lisa refuses the check is one of the physical comedy highlights on the whole show!

oh how could we forget

35. Armin Tamzarian

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Friday, January 23, 2009 5:46 PM (4 minutes ago) Bookmark

i mean, the episode's self-consciousness is annoying, and a bad path, but the actual episode has some good gags, i think! armin's copy of swank!

the simpsons go to africa had that one really good joke in it tho

36. That one woman who seems to voice all manner of smug women in authority?

Yeah, I generally like the Armin episode, but it's kind of :/ as a plot device.

37. I really hate when Homer gets his head squashed between two halves of the drawbridge in "lost Our Lisa" (an ep I otherwise quite like.)

when they went to the Super Bowl, and Bart gets thrown a football from Dan Marino..."I'm about to catch a pass from Dan Marino...this is the greatest moment of my life!"...since when has Bart EVER expressed an interest in sports of any kind?

38. and Homer muscles in and pulls off an athletic diving catch

more broadly,

39. first five minutes of every episode having zero connection to episode's main plot, common in seasons 13+

waht

that's the simpsons trademark, i don't remember a time when that wasn't the case

Ok, how about:

40. Going to some sort of convention when it has no connection to the actual plotline, just because it can involve a celebrity. (Except the one with Adam West).

39. first five minutes of every episode having zero connection to episode's main plot, common in seasons 13+

um yeah the "macguffin" tactic is a trademark of the show from season 2 onwards and is pretty great wtf

"pug-fugly" just made me crack up at work, thanks

anyway:

41. when marge goes to jail for shoplifting and apu is celebrating, he says to homer "we finally put that bitch on ice!" and homer doesn't seem phased or upset by it, it was very weird for me.

39. first five minutes of every episode having zero connection to episode's main plot, common in seasons 13+

um yeah the "macguffin" tactic is a trademark of the show from season 2 onwards and is pretty great wtf

― Courtney Love's Jew Loan Officer (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, January 23, 2009 6:42 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark

name me an early episode example.

read the first post, you guys are getting too general. this thread is for MOMENTS not the 1,000th "OMG JUMP THE SHARK" thread

42. marge: "bart's right -- let's none of us have a cow."
43. that episode where homer joins the navy, and they sing "in the navy" and smithers is there for no apparent reason.
44. the end of that one where marge is working for mr burns, and then he falls in love with her and fires her and at the end he's suddenly nice FOR NO REASON and sends homer and marge out to dinner or something! incredibly lazy writing.

I was about to mention the 'in the navy' episode - so many obvious, laboured gags in that one

I know it was mentioned upthread but that fucking horrible 300th episode with Tony Hawk was some amazingly painful bullshit.

Bart's Dog Gets an F - Season 2

(x-post)

also in Season 2

Brush With Greatness (opens with trip to Mt Splashmore where Homer gets stuck)

43. that episode where homer joins the navy, and they sing "in the navy" and smithers is there for no apparent reason.

FYI-Smithers is gay

36. That one woman who seems to voice all manner of smug women in authority?

― Safe Boating is No Accident (G00blar), den 23 januari 2009 18:01 (55 minutes ago) Bookmark

otm tho that belongs more on the worst character thread since all of them really do suck just as much.

i guess i have lower standards than the rest of you ppl because lindsey naegel (sp) is always good for some laffs:

"i'm an alcoholic"
"i'm a sexual predator"
"you need a financial planner, not a financial consultant!"

FYI-Smithers is gay

FYI -- smithers isn't in the navy.

seriously, i hate it when they try to cram smithers into every single possible 'gay' context for a cheap instant laugh (see also: john waters episode where he's got a date with john, spinoff showcase musical number where he sings "whip it").

i'm with you JD, it's totally lame the way they bring up smithers like that

also lindsay naegel and cookie kwan suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

45. the episode when lisa gets a restraining order against bart and can't think of three nice things he's done for her when asked. come on- what about when he passed up the chance to own the ultimate pog?
46. when the texas oilman turns out to have OCD, which then turns out to be a one episode gag for a mediocre returning character.

"you need a financial planner, not a financial consultant!"

"Financial panther, eh . . . ?"

"10. homer's trip to NYC to pay off the parking tickets -- i think this was the first episode with some new animators, and it shows, and theyre terrible"

What the fucking hell?

I was on my way to the Burlington coat factory to buy an irregular coat...

47. Denis Leary

- amazed that Burt Stanton has watched that many Simpsons episodes without ever noticing Lisa

1. Writers update the timeline by 20 years so Homer was in a grunge band called Sadgasm after high school

- ok kinda, but I am not going to be too cool for age-demographic pandering and act like I didn't laugh my ass off at all of the 90s jokes in there, especially since it's kinda on the front edge of making jokes about the 90s, plus I was more bothered by

48. the Gil episode that ends with them moving to Arizona -- yeah yeah we all know it's a made-up animated show that returns to normal at the end of every episode, but don't go an entire freaking year and have the family relocate and then just go "who cares, it's made up"

lisa it's your birthday
happy birthday lisa

^ I sing this to my dog at least 4 times a week, except with the dog's name instead of "Lisa" and often with other stuff instead of "birthday," like stuff about pooping and chicken treats

nabisco jr you are pooping
happy pooping nabs jr

48. the episode with Bart's "angry dad" cartoon where Homer gets giant lumpy boils on the back of his neck, which Dr. Hibbert says are a necessary release for his anger...the hand-waving pseudoscience didn't even really bother me, there was just something kind of creepy about the lumps on his neck that he'd keep pushing back in.

Ditto. Although I am generally squeamish about cartoon-body grossness in anything longer than five minutes (cf Family Guy "Jackass" thing where Peter's spine is sticking out of his neck)

"10. homer's trip to NYC to pay off the parking tickets -- i think this was the first episode with some new animators, and it shows, and theyre terrible"

What the fucking hell?

― Alex in SF, Friday, January 23, 2009 7:16 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark

seriously! there is a big change bw season 8 and season 9 animation. i admit, this may be more of a jumped-the-shark item than whiney was looking for, but it's always bothered me! the animation changed a lot between seasons 1 and 2, then slowly from season 2 through season 8. suddenly, in season 9, the character movements are more exaggerated, the backgrounds get more (too) detailed, and the points-of-view change a lot. i gotta watch the NYC episode to get some specific examples, but it's hard for me to watch!

It's a vehicle for jokes - if you laugh, good. Who cares about plot. But having said that, Seasons 3-5 or so set the standard so high by having such high quality stories filled with such good jokes. Womp womp.

50. krusty as angry stand-up comedian, janeane garofalo is there, internet comic

sing this to my dog at least 4 times a week, except with the dog's name instead of "Lisa" and often with other stuff instead of "birthday," like stuff about pooping and chicken treats

This is possibly the twee-est thing I've ever read on this message board, but I approve.

That episode is hysterical though! The pimps and the CHUDs! The automatic voice recording on the NYC parking authority. Crab juice! Karkobosh or whatever it's called! The whole set up with Barney and the car even getting to Manhattan is great too. Homer dumping his wallet in the fireplace! Focusing on the animation just seems perverse.

Well it's not like he's much good for having an actual conversation, and "Goose you are a turkey / Gustofurkey-jerky" fills the time nicely

Karkobosh or whatever it's called!

Krau Kalosh?
Klau Kalosht?

51. The episode where Bart goes to the rap concert.

interesting factoid: they have never shown the Homer Goes to NYC episode in NY, NJ, or CT since 9/11. I haven't seen that episode in years.

no bowl only stick

I think the Maude death episode is the first one I never laughed once at. And not even in a 'oh its so emotional i won't laff' type way, it was just too boring.

I hate this episode, definitely see it as a turning point, but I must admit that "star fade" made me lol.

"I'm taking my name off this."

klav kalash

52. Homer getting raped by a panda.

waht

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer_vs._Dignity

50. krusty as angry stand-up comedian, janeane garofalo is there, internet comic

― dylannn, Friday, January 23, 2009 7:35 PM (30 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Hold on, so Homer got raped by a panda and it WASN'T funny

it's pretty easy to be a stan of the simpsons by disregarding the bad jokes instead of being disgusted by them
http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/6821/sgsgsgdsdgsgsdgsgdkn2.jpg

hehe booberella

Ha, I thought the panda thing was one of the rare moments where the Simpsons makes a creepy joke -- Moe's "you ain't going nowhere, cutie" -- and it's pointedly creepy and funny at the same time. (The common thread to all such jokes is it being Moe, I guess.)

fucking jazzman

seriously! there is a big change bw season 8 and season 9 animation. i admit, this may be more of a jumped-the-shark item than whiney was looking for, but it's always bothered me! the animation changed a lot between seasons 1 and 2, then slowly from season 2 through season 8. suddenly, in season 9, the character movements are more exaggerated, the backgrounds get more (too) detailed, and the points-of-view change a lot. i gotta watch the NYC episode to get some specific examples, but it's hard for me to watch!

― 69

^^^i agree with this

I think most people here are actually fans/stans (xpost to that jpeg)

i totally agree with that, too, but i think the jokes save that episode. homer's face as i recall is especially weird in that one

the animation got a lot less human and too slick and the little details in some of the characters that made them funny were gone. i think the show's rhythm got completely fucked as well, it's too fast now that they have the ability to do all this technical shit.

Matt Groening is also mad at the sexist and homeless jokes, so I am not alone!!!

53. The recent bit where Snake and his girlfriend were going to look at an apartment and having a banal conversation about whether or not they were telling people she was pregnant -- this was hilarious but it was 100% an example of the Simpsons now borrowing or being influenced by Family Guy humor (which is a little embarrassing given their history of mocking Family Guy for being Simpsony)

banality as joke in comedy shows = another form of observational comedy.

you know an even worse change in animation is when it went all DIGITAL and now sometimes looks like Lord Of The Rings

hated most of stuff in the Bart the Menace/GHWB the neighbor ep

This show has never made a joke about a politician that wasn't awful and sub-Leno monologue, I don't think.

which reminds me:

54. President Schwarzenegger

Mayor Quimby is always good for some zings. Unless you mean only real-life politicians.

i've gotten into this on other threads before, but as far as the Simpsons goes, original characters that are transparent stand-ins for celebs >>>>> celebs as characters in the show

also, as much as people bitch about gratuitous celeb voice cameos, they're vastly preferable to having various cast members do bad Ah-nuld and Prez Bush impressions

Yeah, I only meant actual politicians. It's almost jarring to watch a show that's, you know, generally clever and then have them do the types of Clinton jokes you'd expect from an e-mail forward.

Clinton/Dole Alien ticket was okay.

clinton/dole episode was totally classic

"the politics of failure have failed! we must make them work again!"

abortions for some! tiny american flags for others!

Yeah, but those weren't jokes about Clinton or Dole, those were just generic "lol politics" jokes, so they're fine.

bob dole doesn't like it

that's slick willie for ya!

Ach now who didn't love George Bush with the multicoloured 'fro?

all the jokes about bush sr's persona were hilarious and OTM

"probably stole a napkin..."

55. Special guest appearance of Kid Rock and Joe C at Spring Break!

54. President Schwarzenegger
Yeah, this was a big WTF since they already have Ranier Wolfcastle as a Schwarzenegger stand-in. Having the real Arnold (with the same voice as RW) be president all of a sudden?!

^^def one of the worst moments of the film

tied with all the other moments of the film

seriously! there is a big change bw season 8 and season 9 animation. i admit, this may be more of a jumped-the-shark item than whiney was looking for, but it's always bothered me! the animation changed a lot between seasons 1 and 2, then slowly from season 2 through season 8. suddenly, in season 9, the character movements are more exaggerated, the backgrounds get more (too) detailed, and the points-of-view change a lot. i gotta watch the NYC episode to get some specific examples, but it's hard for me to watch!

― 69

YES^

I remember realizing one day that the show just wasn't the same. Like a TV pod-people takeover.

More moments less comic book guy nitpicking, y'all.

That episode is hysterical though! The pimps and the CHUDs! The automatic voice recording on the NYC parking authority. Crab juice! Karkobosh or whatever it's called! The whole set up with Barney and the car even getting to Manhattan is great too. Homer dumping his wallet in the fireplace!

yeah this episode is definitely one of the best new-simpsons episodes. also "USE OTHER TOWER"

55. this unbelievably unfunny thing where someone is demonstrating some kind of tribal dance and homer appears to be joining in but it turns out he is choking and the whole thing is all one big heaping serving of "waht"

1. Writers update the timeline by 20 years so Homer was in a grunge band called Sadgasm after high school

people hate this one for the wrong reasons imo - i have no problem with them updating the timeline, i mean who cares about the continuity of the simpsons - it's just the episode is really really bad , the '90s jokes aren't even jokes & that professor might be the biggest challop in the show's history

56. This:

The lines that did inspire laughs that day were usually Meyer's. I recalled a story that Mike Scully had told me earlier, about the most intense laughter he had ever heard in the rewrite room. The incident had occurred several years before, on a day when the staff was working on a subplot in which Homer, at a police auction, buys an impounded muscle car that formerly belonged to the town's resident criminal, Snake. Snake wants the car back, so he escapes from jail and contrives a recovery scheme worthy of Wile E. Coyote: he stretches a wire across a road in the hope of decapitating Homer as he drives by. The wire misses Homer, but his car is followed closely by another.

"The driver of the second car is holding a sandwich at a ridiculous angle high up over his head and saying, 'I told that idiot to slice my sandwich,"' Scully explained. "That's where we were going with the joke. But then George suddenly said, 'What if the wire cuts off his arm?' That made the people in the room laugh so hard that they were coughing they were literally choking because the joke was so unexpected. It was a shocked kind of laugh, and it just started rolling, one of those laughs that build the more they reverberate through you."

http://www.snpp.com/other/interviews/meyer00.html

I hated this joke when it happened and the fact that the Simpsons writers inexplicably think it was the funniest thing ever says a lot.

i thought the arm slicing scene was great, but that sort of weird humour can often be touch and go for the simpsons.

worst moment: "i think i hear a dingo eating your baby"

how is that funny in any way

Unable to pinpoint the first moment when it happens, but a new episode fixture that appears with depressing regularity is the Homer and Marge's wedding being a sham / loveless etc. Awful.

worst moment: "i think i hear a dingo eating your baby"

how is that funny in any way

I agree. Dingos eat babies. Let's move in.

Or, better yet, move on.

Ha ha.

Unable to pinpoint the first moment when it happens, but a new episode fixture that appears with depressing regularity is the Homer and Marge's wedding being a sham / loveless etc. Awful.

― Bored of Canada (S-), Saturday, 24 January 2009 05:25 (59 minutes ago) Bookmark

Um, the first ever episode had this. But I know what you mean. What's worse is the steadily increasing mechanics of getting them back together. They won't be sorted out by a romantic meal anymore, in the new era they require the help of 'Weird Al' Yankovic (and good lord every nanosecond of that episode was excruciating).

Its pretty funny the americans finding the Aus ep hilarious when I think it's lamely crap obvious humour, but I guess any culture's shit being razzed on badly would think the same.

(FWIW I love the Japan ep so what would I know)

The Australia episode is great

dollaradoos

the aus ep is magnificent. it's just a shame they didn't do a brit one around the same time cos then it would've actually been good.

yeah, the Brit episode completely missed all the kinda shit that made the Australian episode great. Of course the US has this weird always-denied "looking up" aspect to England, so it probably wouldn't have happened anyway.

Here's a still from one of my favorite episodes:

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j251/mzing12/1180581638331.jpg

mighty xpost to nabisco
^ I sing this to my dog at least 4 times a week, except with the dog's name instead of "Lisa" and often with other stuff instead of "birthday," like stuff about pooping and chicken treats

I do it too.. maxster, let me dry you! let me dry you, maxster! (when we come inside from the snow)

I have Aussie friends who like the Oz episode.

57. grampa marries selma
58. lisa sees a pretentious art film that looks nothing like any existing art film
59. moe's bar
60. "we didn't start the fire" parody

when you say moe's bar do you mean when he opened the pretentious shit night club? or just moe's in general?

when they change the sign to MOE'S BAR in the movie.

"we didn't start the fire" parody

That was the only bit of that ep I liked - until the British episode came along it was the ultimate Simpsons lowpoint for me

61. when marge gets drunk and sings a song in a first season episode

"we didn't start the fire" parody

That was the only bit of that ep I liked

well, i kind of like it in a "yes, this episode sucked, here's something super-sucky" sense.

why did they change it to moe's bar, that drove me nuts

ah ok, i think i've successfully blocked out everything from movie except wiggam eating doughnuts off his gun. thank god.

62. the apple/steve jobs keynote parody

I hope they changed "tavern" to "bar" out of the producer's fear that large swaths of America wouldn't know what a "tavern" was.

63. homer pulls some gum out of bart's ear and it turns out to have little bones stuck to it. (i mean wtf.)
64. the whole bit in "in marge we trust" where ned gets chased by the school bullies and winds up at the zoo in a pit of baboons and reverend lovejoy has to save him. maybe the dumbest story arc in an otherwise ok episode.

65. "Prepare for the end. The end of high prices!"

66. The thing with the rakes
67. Every second of the Roast-Homer clipshow
68. Any time in the later episodes when the family all laugh at a lame joke ... then keep laughing, so long that you think it's ironic let's-laugh-at-shit-TV-shows-where-they-laugh-too-much ... and then they keep laughing.

The Homer roast clip show was better than most new episodes. Laugh-a-second

66. The thing with the rakes

OMG incorrect.

66. The thing with the rakes

wat

69. The Simpson family's sketches/appearances in the Spin-off Showcase episode

69. The Simpson family's sketches/appearances in the Spin-off Showcase episode

That's basically just making fun of obnoxious sitcom conventions ... you know, product tie-ins that look ridiculously forced and cheesy but are served to help promote, blah blah blah. It's overwhelmingly stupid because it's making fun of how stupid that whole thing was.

70. "Sure I'm flattered, maybe even a little bit curious."

no you are wrong there are no worst moments in Last exit to Springfield

71. the whole "Jebus" thing, which seemed like such a lame non-joke to me at the time and now seems to be frequently quoted/referenced as if it was actually funny

no you are wrong there are no worst moments in Last exit to Springfield

― sonderangerbot, Sunday, January 25, 2009 8:43 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

71. the whole "Jebus" thing, which seemed like such a lame non-joke to me at the time and now seems to be frequently quoted/referenced as if it was actually funny

― some dude, Sunday, January 25, 2009 9:05 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^this

72. lisa's powerplant strike song in "last exit to springfield"

I don't know how frequently your friends say "praise Jebus" but it hasn't got annoying yet for me. I mean - definitely less played out that Saxamaphone.

It think the whole Jebus thing is good in the same way pickles or uhhh ______ is just funny words to say. The nature of the word just sounds funny. But that kind of humor is 'beyond' most everyone.

72. lisa's powerplant strike song in "last exit to springfield"

― Mr. Snrub, Sunday, January 25, 2009 10:48 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

73. Almost all of the first season

lol i knew that was classical gas w/o even clickin it

Flower King of Flies (noodle vague) wrote this on thread Non musician/producer/songwriters who were influential on the history of rock on board I Love Music on Jan 13, 2006

Jebus.

Pete (Pete) wrote this on thread Superheroic Resurrections That "Made Sense" on board I Love Comics on Mar 10, 2005

Jebus.

Matt DC wrote this on thread POPTIMISM Friday March 2nd - You'll believe a Dad Can Dance! on board I Love Everything on Mar 2, 2007

Oh jebus.

peteR wrote this on thread Now that Dancing on Ice has finished, I can no longer spend my Saturday nights swooning over Kyran Bracken in his figure-hugging lycra. on board I Love Everything on Mar 20, 2007

crish? jebus.

bnw wrote this on thread Seasons Greetings, I Mean Depression on board I Love Everything on Dec 6, 2001

's all about jebus.

mark s (mark s) wrote this on thread Northern Lights on board I Love Everything on Jan 3, 2003

it does if you're jebus

Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles) wrote this on thread Sects, Xtian offshoots: S/D, RFI on board I Love Everything on Feb 4, 2004

What, no thought for Jews for Jebus?

nickalicious (nickalicious) wrote this on thread omg phish and justin timberlake wtf!?! on board I Love Everything on Feb 9, 2004

and arto the fuck lindsey!?! jebus!

Donna Brown (Donna Brown) wrote this on thread The BLASPHEMOUS thread on board I Love Everything on Apr 9, 2004

save me, Jebus

sunny successor (katharine) wrote this on thread Inverted Celebrities -- The Game® on board I Love Everything on Jan 9, 2006

its jebus. same thing.

I'm thinking six, six, six (noodle vague) wrote this on thread Where in NY can I meet girl that are easy to talk to? on board I Love Everything on Mar 12, 2006

GOTO "New YOIK??? JEBUS!!!!!!"

elmo argonaut (allocryptic) wrote this on thread I like to chew up a roffle and spread the resulting EXCELSIOR between two intact roffles on board I Love Everything on Oct 4, 2006

5 minutes? Jebus.

dan m wrote this on thread Chicago: Sweetness, Studs, Sneed & Kogan on board I Love Everything on May 30, 2007

aw jebus

elmo, patron saint of nausea (allocryptic) wrote this on thread fondle this on board HTML playground on Jan 27, 2006

OH SWEET JEBUS

bnw wrote this on thread Seasons Greetings, I Mean Depression on board I Love Everything on Dec 6, 2001

Doh! I meant Jebus.

SittingPretty (sittingpretty) wrote this on thread In this thread, we use Streetmap to find out how many streets in the UK share your surname on board I Love Everything on Jan 17, 2003

9. And one of them is in London. Jebus.

smee (smee) wrote this on thread A Female Menses Question Thread (You've Been Warned)! on board I Love Everything on Feb 6, 2003

Jebus Archel, don't encourage the man!

Sébastien Chikara (Sébastien Chikara) wrote this on thread common era vs anno domini FIGHT on board I Love Everything on Nov 12, 2003

at least it kicks jebus out of the equation

dan m wrote this on thread Chicago: A Pleasant Place to Witness Events that are More Friendly in Nature on board I Love Everything on Jun 27, 2007

jebus what a day

Noodle Vague wrote this on thread Not a footballer in sight on board I Love Everything on Dec 9, 2007

THANK YOU JEBUS

Gear! (Gear!) wrote this on thread Indie rock words on board I Love Music on Aug 24, 2004

Luv yr neighbor

- Jebus

mark p (Mark P) wrote this on thread All money is dirty, isn't it? on board I Love Everything on Mar 31, 2003

saxamaphone?

Nate Patrin wrote this on thread "Marge, you're my wife and I love you very much but you're living in a world of make believe with fairies and leprechauns and dancing frogs wearing fancy little hats" on board I Love Everything on Oct 8, 2002

"Saxamaphone... saxamaphone..."

Sym (shmuel) wrote this on thread This is the thread where think up names for saxophone albums (and hopefully get some neat photoshop pics) on board I Love Music on Apr 26, 2004

Saxamaphone, Saxamaphone

BIG HOOS aka the steendriver wrote this on thread Name ordinary things. on board 1 pWN 3v3Ry+h1n G!!!1 on Jun 8, 2008

saxamaphone

Slumpman wrote this on thread Words that are fun to pronounce incorrectly: on board I Love Everything on Jan 20, 2008

Saxamaphone
Tramampoline

mark s wrote this on thread "Beauty Is a Rare Thing" on board I Love Music on Apr 5, 2002

his saxamaphone is made of plastic!! hurrah!!! (what did she think gareth?)

mark p (Mark P) wrote this on thread Uh.. what kind of musical instrument is this? on board I Love Music on Jan 11, 2004

looks like what you got there is a good old fashioned saxamaphone

Trayce (trayce) wrote this on thread Invent a word that doesn't exist on Google on board I Love Everything on May 7, 2004

Aut: You only didnt find "saxemaphone" cos you spelt it wrong, ya ninny.
"saxamaphone"
Results 1 - 10 of about 776 for saxamaphone

nickalicious (nickalicious) wrote this on thread How can you tell you're in a Hollywood movie? on board I Love Everything on Oct 13, 2003

103. When you're sexing, it's in slow-motion, no one ever falls off the bed or accidentally knocks the lamp off the table with their feet, and smooth saxamaphone music comes out of nowhere.

man - I'm glad people don't talk like that IRL as much as ILX

Tramampoline was funny in context

73. Almost all of the first season

no.

Oh god, I saw the episode that was on t4 yesterday, there was some kind of kids singer and the babies rioted and then they tried to stop families from doing something or some such shit but then the babies sneezed on everyone in springfield so they couldn't vote.

Um, 104 - that episode.

105. The incredibly creepy appearance of Homer as a surgically-enhanced bodybuilder in the episode where Marge opens a gym. Eurghhh.

marge opened a gym? they really, really should stop.

"THEY made a movie?"

76. Jim Jarmusch's guest appearance in the recent Sundacne episode. I love Jarmusch and he was great as himself in Blue in the Face, but that whole episode was just a bunch of wasted opportunities.

Btw, the gym episode had the great comic store subplot with Alan Moore and Art Spiegelman and a third comic book author (who I can't remember right now). I wish that had been the main plot instead of the gym thing.

did they at least pronouce it as guym all episode?

who was the first 'not actually a household name' famous person to cameo in this show?

i mean i don't really think of Moore or even Steve Jobs as really famous enough (Jobs is still not as well known as Gates), so when did people on that level start being let on?

altho having said that i had never heard of Peter Frampton before the Homerpalooza episode either

Me neither.

Joe Mantegna? He does the voice of Fat Tony, and when FOX does a TV special about Bart The Murderer, Fat Tony is played by Joe Mantegna.

But I don't think Moore and Spiegelman and Clowes were put there because they are big celebrities, rather than because whoever wrote that episode is a comic fan and wanted to give a nod to them. The episode came out before the Watchmen movie steamroller got rolling, so I think probably something like 10% of the viewers even got the "Watchmen babies" joke.

Surely Sonic Youth were a lot less recognisable than Frampton to the general public? And then letting them do the theme tune?

i preferred it when they had to make up bands, like FUNKY SEE FUNKY DO

77. Barney having a sexy pin-up of Homer in "Simpson Tide" makes my brain hurt.

but Barney as a Barbara Eden-esque genie haunting/taunting Homer is classic...(ditto Ned Flanders' tight ski pants)...

sonic youth/alan moore are the most well known examples of their respective massive subcultures. One of the main reasons the show is still deemed relevant is these little nods to the tasemakers to offset the grim repition

I cut the Simpson Tide episode so much slack because of the joeks

78. the entirety of last night's new episode. (with the exception of the token jab at the Belgians)

what did they say about the Belgians? seems like hard work to do that and be actually funny

sonic youth/alan moore are the most well known examples of their respective massive subcultures. One of the main reasons the show is still deemed relevant is these little nods to the tasemakers to offset the grim repition

― straightola, Monday, January 26, 2009 8:59 AM (53 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I am skeptical of the idea that anybody has ever thought "that episode didn't have very funny jokes, but it included animated versions of Jim Jarmusch/Jonathan Franzen/etc., so it was great!"

List MOMENTS only, not entire seasons or "everything after so-and-so" or "last night's episode"

List MOMENTS only, not entire seasons or "everything after so-and-so" or "last night's episode"

List MOMENTS only, not entire seasons or "everything after so-and-so" or "last night's episode"

List MOMENTS only, not entire seasons or "everything after so-and-so" or "last night's episode"

List MOMENTS only, not entire seasons or "everything after so-and-so" or "last night's episode"

79. Lisa's Hugh Grant-esque British boyfriend in the future whose name is also Hugh
80. Lisa's Irish boyfriend in the movie, Colin
81. Lisa's West Springfield Elementary boyfriend Thelonius

No complains about the episodes where she's romantically linked with Nelson or Ralph or Milhouse (OK some of the later Milhouse ones were pretty played out), but every character they create to be her love interest is a dud. Also, she's kind of a ho for an 8-year-old, huh.

sorry, whiney.

sorry, whiney.

sorry, whiney.

sorry, whiney.

jeez, take a valium wouldya!

i could go trough the episode on a moment by moment basis, as per whiney's request, but i assure you good people i have not the time and it would surely double the number we are currently at.

believe me the whole thing is a royal stinker tho.

79. Lisa's Hugh Grant-esque British boyfriend in the future whose name is also Hugh
no thats mandy patinkin, and it's brilliant
80. Lisa's Irish boyfriend in the movie, Colin
possibly the worst moment of the whole movie. bono joke.
81. Lisa's West Springfield Elementary boyfriend Thelonius
hard to even remember that one

wasn't she also involved with fat tonys son or something?

most aspie thread I've looked at in awhile

Thelonius is from the lingwo episode isn't it?

most aspie thread I've looked at in awhile

someone doesn't read ILM

Fat Tony has a son now? jeez what's his name - AJ?

82. the segment (used in an oldish clip show) where the Simpsons go to a family counseling session and angrily administer electroshock to each other as part of the therapy. I don't remember seeing this in a regular episode, but it must be from one of the first two seasons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_No_Disgrace_Like_Home

ah, thanks. I don't remember this plot, but Wiki's aspieishly exhaustive coverage of each and every Simpsons episode is, um, impressive.

"that episode didn't have very funny jokes, but it included animated versions of Jim Jarmusch/Jonathan Franzen/etc., so it was great!"

This seems totally true, but when I think back on episodes like the one with the writers, it always seems like some of the best jokes have to do with the guests! (I guess I will never tire of their jokes about writers: that colony episode and the one with the fratty Pinski fans are two of my favorites.)

Basho! Bananaleaf!

83.

u_u

83.

― caek, Sunday, 15 February 2009 16:58 (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^^^^

Goes to show long it's been since I watched a new episode — I didn't even know there was a new title sequence.

(It sucks, BTW)

aie for a second i thought you were saying that moment was one of the worst xp

why do they have a new TV?

It's better than the old title sequence at least. The delay between Maggie pulling the steering wheel and the car turning has always really bugged me for some reason - nice to see they've kept that in

Goes to show long it's been since I watched a new episode — I didn't even know there was a new title sequence.

It's airing tonight for the first time.

Way to rip off a fuuny gag from a Halloween episode (Homer getting hit by the car), new title sequence.

the new intro deserves its own poll but, worst moment: putting fucking disco stu on the sidewalk.

ya that is unforgiveable

yr all nuts, that new intro's fine

worst is making it two minutes long in a show that's already more crunched for time by advertising every year

well i bet that's just the extendamix to introduce the new one

when cut for syndication i bet its nothing but the title card and disco stu disco dancing on the sidewalk

It took them 20 years and all they could come up with was this injoke-filled mess?

also, it still includes mr. largo, who's been seen around once in the last 18 years.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ca/SimpsonsOpenComp2.png

man the movie should have been the final nail in this thing's coffin

I guess it's fair to say Maude Flanders probably shouldn't be in the whip pan.

that god and devil and kang and kodos shit is like South Park title credits circa 2001 lame.

84. Bart: Heh-heh, locusts. they'll drive him nuts.
Homer: It's all in the bible son, the "prankster's bible" [shows Bart his very small holy bible]

^^ this always sticks in my head as one of those moments where i'm like "was that a...joke? is there gonna be a funny part after the long awkward beat where he shows the bible?". also i found the exact quote on a 'classic tv quotes' site where it was rated 4 out of 5, wtf.

the joke is that a guide to some practical task is typically referred to as the ______'s bible, and so when homer is stealing prank tactics from the holy bible itself he refers to it as "the prankster's bible". its not the biggest roflz of all time but its a nice lil words-are-funny bit

i get the joke, it just feels so strangely flat compared to a lot of similar Simpsons jokes, like it's setting up a punchline that should be more unexpected or have some kind of twist. pretty minor thing to put on the list, i know, but it always stuck in my craw.

if we make it to 100 this show WILL get cancelled

but it does have a twist in that it's a real bible.

if every joke was "hey, there's a lemon behind that rock" it wouldnt be surprising any more.

yeah i dont think the point of that gag is some mindblowing double-reversal its mostly just another character bit about homer's self-serving relationship with christianity

part of the joke is, God is one twisted bastard

burt_stanton mission statement, ladies and gentlemen

eh maybe i'm not explaining myself well, a big part of why i dislike that particular bit is that the timing/execution seems really off. xpost

well the weird thing about it is that homer actually holds up a bible, which is not really necessary for the joke and does kind of make you think that something is going to happen with the bible, but yeah i don't really care

yeah no totally you're right

i dunno man i think its well read by castelleneta, ive heard homer going "it's the PRANKSTER's bible!" in my head ever since you got b-hurt about it & have been l'ing inside

how the fuck does that joke work if he doesn't hold up the bible?

The joke is supposed to be very lightly sacrilegious ... as in, in the bible god pulled some really crazy fuckin stunts on those Jews

or something like that. I really don't remember that thing too well, but that's the reaction my friends and I have when we saw that joke.

uh burt_stanton im pretty sure the plague of locusts was pulled on egyptians

Good job there, scholar. The point's still the same.

an even zanier scheme!

just the dialogue ("locusts" "it's all in the bible...the prankster's bible") would still be a joke, it just wouldn't be a very good one.

can someone please post an 85. so that we can move on? i feel responsible for this terrible revive now.

It would be a completely different joke. And not as good.

Can we all at least agree what Ralph means when he says "Sleep, that's where I'm a viking"?

he means God is one twisted bastard

85. last night they rebroadcast some recent episode I hadn't seen before that was supposed to be a Departed parody I guess, with Skinner planting a mole to keep track of Bart's pranks &c &c . the whole thing was pretty cringeworthy, but the absolute nadir came in the last scene of the episode, when Ralph Wiggum popped up out of a trash can, pointed at a rat that was scurrying by, and said "the rat symbolizes obviousness!"

it's like, wtf, if you're going to have a random extremely forced completely out-of-character moment, at least try to include a joke kthx?

Yeah, that was pretty terrible.

i mean, say what you will about the quality of it, but how is "the rat symbolizes obviousness" not "a joke"

the writing staff needs some hard-ass drill sergeant type dude to force them out of all the ralph wiggum non-sequiturs and smithers gay jokes

show is not about jokes now is about smug meta-wit xp

I wish they would make the show an hour long and start writing stories again instead of just a series of events that occur in succession.

the new episodes have stories they are just uniformly terrible

"hey guys, you know what would be a great way to end the episode? remember the last scene of The Departed? no? well how about if we do a visual gag that spoofs it, only we have -- get this -- RALPH WIGGUM suddenly appear -- out of NOWHERE -- and deliver one of his patented deadpan quips? eh? eh?!?"

jesus, the more I think about this the angrier I get!

last night's simpsons was, without a doubt, the worst episode ever. rest assured i was on the internet within minutes registering my disgust throughout the world!

There was a rat in the last scene of Academy Award-winning movie The Departed and it was a hacky, overbearing metaphor, and they are pointing that out in their parody of that movie.

well I've gotta hand it to them, they sure zinged the Academy!

well I've gotta hand it to you, you sure zinged the writers of the Simpsons.

the rat zing was the only good thing about that Departed bit

i acknowledge it was an attempt at a joke, but it wouldve been better done in literally any other way than how it was executed

Maybe as a Homer voiceover, read in the way he says "I call the big one Bitey"

I'm pretty ashamed that we've pretty much devolved into Simpsons fanfic today

the lack of current events meta-humour or parodies of specific things is what I used to like about the simpsons.

i do like it when they have characters narrating (like Marge at end of monorail ep)

86. The moment when Homer Simpon has his guts ripped out by the rabid badger living in Santa's Little Helper's dog house, or really the moment when he pulls away from the dog house and his guts are pulsing out of his abdomen. I selected this moment as one of the worst because this was the first time I noticed that the writers had moved from physical comedy/sight gags into straight up cartoon gross out violence, and it seemed really lazy and crass to me.

look man, it's a dumb idea for a parody (I am pretty certain that if you were on Family Feud and the category was "THINGS YOU REMEMBER ABOUT 'THE DEPARTED'" and you said "the rat at the end!" you would not be hugging and high-fiving cousins anytime soon), and it's terribly executed. not really sure what the problem is here.

xposts:

i acknowledge it was an attempt at a joke, but it wouldve been better done in literally any other way than how it was executed

― harry s tfuman (and what), Friday, February 20, 2009 4:48 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

(I would have picked "every moment when Marge becomes dissatisfied with her life and attempts to achieve self-actualization by finding a job, starting a business, pursuing a hobby, or just getting some free time, but then decides that what truly makes her happy is subjugating her own emotional fulfillment and self-worth to that of her family" but burt_stanton kind of covered that towards the beginning of the thread, plus I wasn't sure if that was appropriate specific.)

87. Homer's constant screaming at seeing Smithers' father's decomposed body, because the sound was just so annoying and it went on for like half a minute

88. Marge's own annyoyed grunts when she's hiding in the box while Homer takes credit for her work as a mechanic, for similar reasons.

http://www.sspxasia.com/Documents/SiSiNoNo/Images/1999_May/Cardinal_RatzingerB.jpg

89. when the great catfish winks at homer and marge

(I would have picked "every moment when Marge becomes dissatisfied with her life and attempts to achieve self-actualization by finding a job, starting a business, pursuing a hobby, or just getting some free time, but then decides that what truly makes her happy is subjugating her own emotional fulfillment and self-worth to that of her family" but burt_stanton kind of covered that towards the beginning of the thread, plus I wasn't sure if that was appropriate specific.)

Yeah but this would eliminate the pretzel episode which is major lolz.

But yeah, the badger thing was awful, even though it was preceded by the great, "A badger? It's probably Milhouse!"

90. Lisa getting stick from that documentary-maker who sneers at her for being an 8 year old over-achieving dilettant or something. don't even know what they were getting at here but it was all kinda unpleasant.

91. Lisa in the spelling contest getting similar treatment from it's organiser who at the end just says "now I must return to wherever it is I came from".

from "its organiser"? I guess you guys don't know who George Plimpton is.

burn_statin'

Yeah but this would eliminate the pretzel episode which is major lolz.

I totally agree. I'm really conflicted about a lot of the eps based on this plot - Shary Bobbins, the counterfeit jeans ring in the Simpsons's car hole, etc.

Shary Bobbins was one of the earliest episodes to make me cringe

can i just

92.

Shary: Hello, I'm Shary Bobbins.
Homer: Did you say Mary Po...
Shary: No, I definitely did not. I'm an original creation, like Rickey
Rouse, or Monald Muck.

can you just stop staying "can i just" for at least a week?

93. Any claims of relation to persons involved with the show.

I really can't watch this show anymore. Its gone from being passable to actively irritating, and all of my residual affection for the characters and style of humor has been steadily burned away by declining quality. Is there a betting pool for how much longer this show will go on?

There was a rat in the last scene of Academy Award-winning movie The Departed and it was a hacky, overbearing metaphor, and they are pointing that out in their parody of that movie.

Even if, like me, you never saw The Departed, it is a whole episode about people spying/snitching/RATTING and so when a rat goes by and Ralph says it symbolizes obviousness, that is semi-funny just because, umm, yeah -- so it's not like it's zero-value confusing to anyone who hasn't seen that movie

(Although I didn't find it super-funny and did kinda wonder if I was missing a reference)

^^ Wait, a better way of putting this is that if the rat symbol is obvious in The Departed, it's equally obvious in the Simpsons' parody thereof, so there's at least some limited absurd funny involved in going "haha yeah, that is kind of obvious and unnecessary"

according to Al Jean Shary Bobbins is one of his proudest moments

65. "Prepare for the end. The end of high prices!"

wtf no that was the best! I wish an X-Files had ended like that.

87. Homer's constant screaming at seeing Smithers' father's decomposed body, because the sound was just so annoying and it went on for like half a minute

Actually yes, this! It was extremely irritating! Similarly, the screaming caterpillar they werent allowed to kill. It was funny for about 30 seconds and then it was a bit "oh god dont draw this out the whole episode!"

Drawing from a rather limited post season 12 knowledge here but:

88. A scene where they go to an art film, and Lisa complains that they put in subtitles to make it commercial.

When I saw that it was one of the first signs that they'd just stopped making jokes that make sense and were going for just plain bad.

Sherry Bobbins is an amazing episode. I have no idea how anyone else could ever think otherwise.

Sherry: I worked for Lord Thistlewinchesterbottom the III
Homer: Marge, do we know him? [whispering]
Marge: No, Homer.
Homer: You know, the guy I bowl with. The black guy.
Marge: That's Carl.
Homer: [still whispering] Oh yeah!
So, I see you worked for Carl.

89. "My Sister, My Sitter" in general, but specifically the bit where Bart breaks his arm and uses this as a way to clown Lisa. Worth point out that that episode comes before the Frank Grimes on and suffers from exactly the same problems.

Because it really isn't

I half-seriously made a chart detailing, episode by episode, the rise and fall of the simpsons during the first 10 years.
Either way, there were only 2 episodes that 'failed':

90. Lisa's Sax The story of Lisa getting her saxophone: One of the (perhaps the) first indicators of the the shift toward painfully stressed storylines littered with jokes that have nothing funny about them.

and

91. all singing, all dancing They just really dropped the ball on this one. The music numbers are usually my least favourite part, dedicating an episode to them, awfully at that, is just pointless, it's almost like an accident you feel bad about holding against them.

just FYI those last two were actually #96 and #97

so close!

98. the episode where Lisa accidentally goes to the wrong high school and Frankie Muniz has a brief cameo appearance as a nerdy kid who charms her by making an I.M. Pei joke.

98.b. Lisa responds "You know about I.M. Pei? I.M. impressed!"

Oh god. . .

That "because it isn't" was an xpost.

on that note

99. Having an episode where Frank Gehry is the guest star.

Well, then, fire away!

100. Homer has a fantasy he is strangling his father to death in the car.

I mean come on.

(I thought it might be suitable that a stan of the Simposons made point #100 heh)

AND I CANT EVEN SPELL IT oh god Im going back to bed.

It's the stans who see these things best (so says I, who spent 2 and a half hours straight this sunny afternoon watching The Simpsons)

A finer way to spend a day I couldnt think of.

the strangling was a shot-for-shot sopranos reference, btw.

Not that references = funny, but it was a nice homage

seriously tho, what's with all the weird boo-hooing today that Simpsons homages aren't filled with wacky Family Guy-style "bits." They've been doing pointless homages ever since SEASON ONE when Homer carries marge out of the plant like "An Officer And A Gentleman" or Bart the general doing some training against the sunset like "Full Metal Jacket." Its part of what makes the show good.

the strangling was a shot-for-shot sopranos reference, btw.

Need YouTube of this.

Oh ok I had no idea about the Sopranos thing. I dont watch a lot of tv.

Speaking of the Sopranos:

101. A montage of Fat Tony driving through Springfield with 'Woke Up This Morning' playing over it, and Simpsonised versions of Chrissy and Paulie popping up in the background. No jokes included, just cultural referencing for the point of it.

Actually I liked that.

seriously tho, what's with all the weird boo-hooing today that Simpsons homages aren't filled with wacky Family Guy-style "bits." They've been doing pointless homages ever since SEASON ONE when Homer carries marge out of the plant like "An Officer And A Gentleman" or Bart the general doing some training against the sunset like "Full Metal Jacket." Its part of what makes the show good.

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Saturday, February 21, 2009 2:59 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

the breadth of the suggestions here and the impossibility of any consensus really shows how good the simpsons is

102. the sudden frequency of montages set to random pop music in recent seasons -- in particular one scene set to an Elvis Costello deep cut where I was just like wtf is this shit, the writers are now just shoe-horning in songs from their record collections? and it wasn't like this was the episode where EC guest starred or anything, it was just for no real reason.

also the Sopranos one sucked partly because the Sopranos theme song/opening titles suck.

103. everytime they make a joke about rehashing old episodes in an episode that rehashes old episodes

88. A scene where they go to an art film, and Lisa complains that they put in subtitles to make it commercial.

When I saw that it was one of the first signs that they'd just stopped making jokes that make sense and were going for just plain bad.

― mehlt, Friday, February 20, 2009 7:13 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

isn't the point of that joke that it doesn't make a lot of sense? i thought it was funny and an apt play on typical film snob grousing.

There was a clips episode at the end of '97 which was the first time I decided to no longer care about The Simpsons, and I've probably watched between 10-15 new episodes since then after watching weekly since December '89..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Singing,_All_Dancing
I guess this would have been the one..

omg I hated Miracle On Evergreen Terrace.

Okay, if I had to choose a moment it would be when everyone decided to hate them during Christmas and stole all their possessions or whatever it was that happened.

WTF Why was Marge on Jeopardy?!?!

she was trying to get money

There was a clips episode at the end of '97 which was the first time I decided to no longer care about The Simpsons, and I've probably watched between 10-15 new episodes since then after watching weekly since December '89..

That was #99

I really think your onto something there, though, since I also recently deemed that episode to be the cut off point for caring about the simpsons.

also the Sopranos one sucked partly because the Sopranos theme song/opening titles suck.

The Sopranos opening titles do not suck. I'd put it up there amongst my favorites, actually. I'll give you the song, though - not too good.

none of the clip shows that came before it were especially good.

clip shows in general are bad, how can you use that as a gauge of a show's worth?

Well, the april fools one at least was funny in the new scenes. My issue with that is that they took a bunch of my least favourite moments from the show and dedicated a whole episode to it.

i mean, yeah, it was a piece of shit. But seriously who doesn't know those were totally made out of desperation in the pre-computer days because Fox overbooked the season and they didn't have the time/budget to do weeks and weeks of animation. I mean, they fucking suck, but I always treated them as contract obligators made under duress instead of something you should use to decide if you keep watching a show.

the 138th Episode Spectacular was a pretty good clip show, though, although it had the advantage of Troy McClure segments and some unaired clips going for it.

Very true, xpost. 138th one was great actually, but I wouldn't call it a clip show.

"right about now you're probably saying, 'troy, i've seen every simpsons episode - you can't show me anything new!' well you've got some attitude, mister."

"Guys & Dolllllls, we're just a buncha crazy Guys & Dolllllllls..."

:(

"So It's Come To This" was great! I remember loving the "D'oh" montage.. and "me lose brain? uh-oh!" It's was at least 50% new jokes and original content, and did not rely completely on the clips.

There should be less clip shows and more Spectaculars.

Dunno if this is 100 yet (if it matters). Even so, THIS:

Milhouse: If you put dog doo on the suction cups, they'll stick better.
Bart: Milhouse, I'm not going to take dog doo that's been on the dirty ground and put it on my face!

Unbelievable. So, the "joke" is that those two are the world's stupidest 8-year olds, and the only two who aren't repulsed by dogshit? And that presumably, if Santa's Little Helper took a dump on the living room floor, Bart would have no qualms against smearing it on his face, so long as Marge had shampooed the carpeting beforehand?! Jebus. I can't believe that someone in the writer's room actually thought that was funny. Awful.

Holy crap i thought the grunge band homer episode mentioned upthread was a joke. Saw it last night and it was worse than every schaltzy lisa episode put together. no contest worst episode ever

Worth point out that that episode comes before the Frank Grimes on and suffers from exactly the same problems.

i don't see what they have in common really - elaborate?

104. every time Homer throttled Bart's neck. never funny, always a little disturbing.

Yesterday I saw the episode where Bart gets put in juvie, and it bothered me slightly. There's a scene where all the kids are watching a cartoon and Bart has a line which is something like: "Ah, cartoons - America's only native artform. I don't count jazz, because it sucks." Somehow it really depressed me that one of the writers would have that opinion, and have it go unchallenged.

Also the idea of Bart having a massive criminal record feels really wrong, as I can still remember when him shoplifting a videogame cartridge was a big deal.

Oh, and the stupid throwaway gag of Homer getting a job as a prison guard. Come to think of it, this episode bothered me quite a lot.

Somehow it really depressed me that one of the writers would have that opinion, and have it go unchallenged.

Why would you assume that a line like that reflects a real person's actual opinion?

lots of people hate jazz

Bart later saw the light when he became a jazz drummer.

101: Bart bec...

lots of people hate jazz

― O Supermanchiros (blueski), Monday, 23 February 2009 11:17 (17 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Johnny, for one.

why would you assume that's Johnny's real opinion?

Dunno if this is 100 yet (if it matters). Even so, THIS:

Milhouse: If you put dog doo on the suction cups, they'll stick better.
Bart: Milhouse, I'm not going to take dog doo that's been on the dirty ground and put it on my face!

Unbelievable. So, the "joke" is that those two are the world's stupidest 8-year olds, and the only two who aren't repulsed by dogshit? And that presumably, if Santa's Little Helper took a dump on the living room floor, Bart would have no qualms against smearing it on his face, so long as Marge had shampooed the carpeting beforehand?! Jebus. I can't believe that someone in the writer's room actually thought that was funny. Awful.

― Myonga Vön Bontee, Monday, February 23, 2009 9:07 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

did you really not get this joke or... i mean... really??

#10X Lisa becomes president.

#10X+1 What happened to you China, you used to be cool?

that 'future Lisa' episode sucked because there were no crying/melting robots

Only good thing in that episode: "I can't believe 'Smell you later' actually replaced 'Goodbye.'"

Milhouse: If you put dog doo on the suction cups, they'll stick better.
Bart: Milhouse, I'm not going to take dog doo that's been on the dirty ground and put it on my face!

"Ah, cartoons - America's only native artform. I don't count jazz, because it sucks."

i'll bite...i remember both of these jokes and thought they were hilarious (still do)

Dunno if this is 100 yet (if it matters). Even so, THIS:

Milhouse: If you put dog doo on the suction cups, they'll stick better.
Bart: Milhouse, I'm not going to take dog doo that's been on the dirty ground and put it on my face!

Unbelievable. So, the "joke" is that those two are the world's stupidest 8-year olds, and the only two who aren't repulsed by dogshit? And that presumably, if Santa's Little Helper took a dump on the living room floor, Bart would have no qualms against smearing it on his face, so long as Marge had shampooed the carpeting beforehand?! Jebus. I can't believe that someone in the writer's room actually thought that was funny. Awful.

― Myonga Vön Bontee, Monday, February 23, 2009 9:07 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i really don't know where to begin with this.

i know dude

Look, it's not a question of me not "getting it" - it's basically just that old "looks like dogshit/feels...smells...tastes like dogshit/Good thing we didn't step in it!" dogshit-obliviousness thing in a whole new guise, right? I thought that one was pretty funny too when I first heard it...but I was 12, and it was ancient even then. Plus I have a hard time accepting that someone as clever as Bart Simpson could suddenly be so clueless for the sake of a lame joke. (If it were Ralph Wiggum instead of Bart: now that would be plausible.)

eat some shorts dude

eat some dude's shorts

Isnt the joke the fact its "on the dirty ground" thats more important to them than the dogshit? I mean its so obvious, you're ruining it now.

yeah, the joke isn't really obliviousness to dogshit, it's horror at dirt (with dogshit for emphasis). and out-of-character behavior for the sake of a joke can be a good thing. to me, it's extra funny cuz bart wouldn't be afraid of dirt in the first place.

I think almost half of these gripes are people not getting the joke :{}

i don't wear shorts

"Ah, cartoons - America's only native artform. I don't count jazz, because it sucks." Somehow it really depressed me that one of the writers would have that opinion, and have it go unchallenged.

Dude, he's a punk-ass 10-year-old. Of course he hates jazz. I don't know why you'd assume this is a writer's actual opinion.

Well a punk-ass 10 year old would never say "Ah, cartoons - America's only native artform. I don't count jazz..." but yeah

the thing is, that line could've just as easily been said by homer

(this is not necessarily a good thing)

Why do Channel 4 keeping showing the one where Homer runs for sanitation commissioner, when they insist on crippling one of the episode's best jokes? I paraphrase:

Homer striding into a random office at town hall, past a queue of waiting people.

Homer: "I'd like to run for sanitation commissioner"
Surly worker behind counter: "Great, but this is the queue for the sex offenders register."
Moe (joining back of the queue): "Oh geez, there's always a line."

Channel 4 cut out the surly office worker's dialogue in the middle rendering the gag entirely nonsensical. I swear they must have shown this same episode at least twice in the last month, but why? Surely there are so many episodes they could show, why keep programming this one if they need to cut it?

I mean how does this syndication thing work? Does Channel 4 only have very limited rights to which episodes they can show? Do they buy the rights to whole seasons or is it per episode? Are some episodes cheaper than others?

because they show more ads in syndication time slots, so episodes have to be shorter.

anyone who watches simpsons episodes in syndication doesn't really like the simpsons imo

C4 used to really butcher Family Guy too

yeah but who care about that.

the simpsons edits otoh are a complete disgrace.

because they show more ads in syndication time slots, so episodes have to be shorter.

not in the UK.

i think channel 4 have only bought rights to show the first ten seasons or so.

but they've shown many from subsequent seasons.

"ten" was a guess

i remember seeing the 'british' episode late last year on c4, and that's from s15.

many xposts

well yeah I've seen all these episodes a million times and I've got the boxsets, but it just seems a shame that classic episodes get butchered on terrestrial for people who might not have seen them before. I've just never noticed it being a particular issue for other types of programs, but cartoons like Simpsons or Family Guy always get aggravating little cuts (and that cut I am talking about above seems to be related to the topic of the joke, not the need to fit it into a particular time slot - I mean the joke would still be mildly amusing if you cut Moe out at the end; you'd save roughly the same amount of screen time).

If it is not clear, I am talking about the UK situation by the way. I have no idea what the syndication is like in the States, but I've heard it is pretty horrendous.

they probably bought the syndicated versions from the US, which would have any vaguely naughty references sliced out to run on syndicated channels any hour of the day.

ah ok that would make a kind of dumb sense.

anyone who watches simpsons episodes in syndication doesn't really like the simpsons imo

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, February 26, 2009 8:26 AM (47 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

ok you're totally burt_stanton trolling here, right? you have to be. seriously.

anyone who watches simpsons episodes in syndication doesn't really like the simpsons imo

yeah, poor ppl don't love The Simpsons, the scum.

fine, morbs, i'll put in an asterisk for "poor ppl".

But otherwise, with the availability of DVD boxsets, the fact that every video store on earth carries them, the increasing ubiquity of netflix, and the fact that they're one of the most popular torrents on earth, there's really no excuse for someone who has enough time/money to get all heated about syndication cuts, for real

Ok.

But as I mentioned I'm talking about the situation in the UK, where, I suspect, syndication cuts aren't nearly so common.

fine, morbs, i'll put in an asterisk for "poor ppl".

But otherwise, with the availability of DVD boxsets, the fact that every video store on earth carries them, the increasing ubiquity of netflix, and the fact that they're one of the most popular torrents on earth, there's really no excuse for someone who has enough time/money to get all heated about syndication cuts, for real

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, February 26, 2009 2:39 PM (17 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

dude... really?

just to re-iterate

the truth is out there, slock

OK watching the Simpsons in syndication and complaining about the cuts are 2 different things. Does either make you not an OMG TRUE FAN or just the latter?

But otherwise, with the availability of DVD boxsets, the fact that every video store on earth carries them, the increasing ubiquity of netflix, and the fact that they're one of the most popular torrents on earth, there's really no excuse for someone who has enough time/money to get all heated about syndication cuts, for real

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, February 26, 2009 9:39 AM (23 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i aint got none of this but i watch every episode on www.wtso.net

which usually has syndication cutz lol

u hate the simpsons

Definitely.

the stuff they cut out for syndication saves 30 calories

nice

I thought UK-TV had tits and cussing all over the place.

not before 9pm usually

after 9pm they just broadcast a slideshow of can i have some simpsons porn

do they add tits to simpsons episodes?

haha xp

i'll leave you with what we all came here to see - hardcore nudity!

The DVD box sets are dirt freaking cheap - $30 a season in Aus, so they gotta be even less overseas - you're mad not to buy them if youre a fan.

Admittedly they are only up to S11 though.

http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/02/fox-renews-simpsons.html

that's another worst moment

Just watched the most recent episode... do they have a new writing team?

this thread is for worst moments. Talk about last night's ep here:
the simpsons was really good tonight

I thought it was terrible. And it was only 20 minutes long, including the long version of the intro, the Homer clips, and Chalmers dancing.

is there a thread for talking about episodes that weren't really good but weren't the worst moments ever?

i mean that other thread isn't just if you thought it was good, its for talking about last night's episodes generally.

Hm, I thought it wasn't so bad by second-decade-Simpsons standards, tho I only watch maybe a half-dozen new eps per season since about '03 or so. Kinda nice to see Skinner triumphant, and to use science to solve a problem for the first time since, like, 1991.

xxpost

Another derailing of the thread but in "brother from another planet" theres a lot of stuff that didn't really make any sense, and I'm amazed how smoothly they can pull it off. Like someone explain to me why millhouse, louis et al are chanting Barton Fink? Just cause it has bart in it? The explanation I came up with when I was 8 (that it sonds like "bart can't think") is still the best I can come up with. ANd when the homer-resembling woman drives by? Is that supposed to imply that homer was driving by in drag, I always thought it was supposed to be ambiguous, but I'm still unsure about that.

Either way, I think it's notable how the stuff that made no sense or had no joke behind still works better in the classic era.

Uhm, the kids are really excited about sneaking into an R-rated movie. Then the joke is that, oh lol, it's BARTON FINK! Those kids are in for something of a disappointment.

ha ha there are quite a few refs in that episode i never got e.g. the flying nun who yells "this isn't funneee" and then explodes

Is that supposed to imply that homer was driving by in drag

no it's just the ironing that they resemble Homer so much (and Bart really wanted it to be Homer)

re: Barton Fink, see also re: Naked Lunch, "I can tell you two things that are wrong with the title of that movie" or something.

also there is that weird scene where Homer is watching Wings in some sort of back room instead of watching it in the main living room. CRAYZEH.

Uhm, the kids are really excited about sneaking into an R-rated movie. Then the joke is that, oh lol, it's BARTON FINK! Those kids are in for something of a disappointment.

Is that is. . I honestly never thought of it like that (too busy looking for non-existent cryptic messages about Bart, possibly not able to think).

xxpost. Yeah, but why would the driver be singing I am woman, in what sounds like Homer's voice (other than to stress that it's not actually homer, but that would be even more convoluted).

And the thing with homer melting in the car, that was also weird, I guess.

" i never got e.g. the flying nun who yells "this isn't funneee" and then explodes"

This isn't a ref to Sally Fields 'the flying nun'?

i'm sure it is but i never saw it

I never seen it either, but based on this maybe this is necessary viewing:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/78/Sallyfieldbg.jpg/200px-Sallyfieldbg.jpg

Its definitely a Flying Nun reference. I think some people here perhaps way overthink the gags/references and in doing so get disappointed. Sometimes, theyre just simple lolz ("I'm not taking dog doo off the dirty ground", the Barton Fink r-rated thing).

And the thing with homer melting in the car, that was also weird, I guess.

Well it may have been a reference I missed (though not *everything* on modern animation has to be!) but to me that was purely a Bart revenge fantasy because by that point he was so furiously pissed off at Homer.

i wonder if they actually based the look of Homer's Mom on the "hear me roar" Homer-woman in that scene

OK, here's another pretty lame moment, hopefully (?) less contentious than my last contribution:

Private School Principal: Sorry. I don't have anything to offer you unless you are a member of a minority group.
Homer: (inexplicably fluent Spanish)
Principal: Sorry.
Homer: (disappointed, stereotypical Chinese) Ahh, so.

well when you transcribe it as "(inexplicably fluent Spanish)" it doesn't seem funny, especially IIRC it WASN'T fluent Spanish, it was just Homer going "excelente!!" and other various basic Spanish words. It was just hearing Homer bust into what he thought was convincing Spanish that was funny.

ya, I think it was just "excellente! Muchas gracias, senorita!"

I have, for some reason, always hated the little giggle that Michael Jackson does when Bart accuses him of adding EEH HEEHs to be commercial.

Even funnier, it was "Muchos gracias, Senorata!"

I think we've more than established that Myonga doesn't understand how jokes go

"And the thing with homer melting in the car, that was also weird, I guess."

Did it look like this?
http://www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/indiana-jones-finest/melty-toht.gif

I dunno if this has been mentioned, but 99% of Simpsons use of licensed music have been stinkers. It just heralds cheap parody. (Well probably expensive parody -- it rankles me that Limp Bizkit makes money off the Simpsons.)

Ahh, the melting face makes more sense now. God, I can only wonder what watching early 90's Simpsons is going to be like for kids born in the 00's. Kind of sad to think how much will be lost on most of them.

Yeah I assumed if it was anything, it was the ROTLA thing, but I try not to desperately apply pop culture to the show too much. Unfortunately these days thats becoming bloody impossible, they're bypassing the family guy in such stupidity.

I think we've more than established that Myonga doesn't understand how jokes go

Jeezus! It was the "Ah, so" that I hated, not the "inexplicably fluent Spanish"! THAT was funny. And I woulda transcribed the proper Spanish quote verbatim if I could've remembered/found an easily cut-and-pasteable portion of it somewhere.

Now who can find me a Simpsons moment that combines both dogpoo AND Chinamen so I can REALLY have something to complain about?

mehlt at Tuomas-esque levels of not getting shit here.

TBH if a joke only holds up because its a pop culture ref it is a pretty weak joke, for these sorts of reasons.

"lol its funny because thats from sesame st" isnt good writing.

But what do I care, I'll watch it every day anyway.

mehlt at Tuomas-esque levels of not getting shit here.

― ambulance chaser (S-), Tuesday, March 3, 2009 11:09 PM (8 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

we all deal with grief in our own ways

i don't even know what barton fink is about and still found the ref funny

i get jokes!

I'd think you'd probably need to at least know its hardly a T&A R-rated film (which is why it was LOL they were excited) but from the context it should be clear what they wuz trying to say /Donbot.

Matt Seitz on how overreliance on pop-culture references has damaged The Simpsons (and other shows):

http://www.salon.com/entertainment/tv/feature/2011/03/08/simpsons_pop_culture

i agree with dude in theory but wtf is seinfeld doing on that list?

i would also question whether the "job" of a tv show is to remain relevant for decades.

that's a defensible point.

I pretty much loathe shows that are nothing BUT pop-cult riffs, ie Family Guy and the last 15 years of SNL. Somehow even though SCTV was composed of parody sketches, the characters had a life of their own.

In a Bob Newhart commentary on a DVD of his psychologist sitcom, he said they deliberately kept topical references to a minimum so the show wouldn't date. Thast's confidence.

wtf is seinfeld doing on that list?

ya i think 'friends' & in particular 'seinfeld' explicitly avoid doing much pop culture stuff, for basically the reasons this guy lays out?

dumm article, really, question his ability to 'watch' properly

Remember Bart and Lisa watching the "School House Rock" parody "I'm an Amendment to Be" in a 1996 episode "The Day the Violence Died"? "It's one of those campy '70s throwbacks that appeals to Generation X-ers," Lisa says. "We need another Vietnam to thin out their ranks," Bart says coldly -- a line that would be a lot funnier if the United States had not, in fact, gotten involved in another Vietnam seven years later.

yeah I mean if he thinks that makes the line retrospectively less funny then I don't think him and I are gonna be singing from the same hymnsheet on this one

Seinfeld did a ton of that stuff!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gcaq4ElAJrE

xp Esp. since it's only the second-funniest such line, and the funniest comes with an even MORE dated reference:

Barney: I always hoped Bart would grow up just like us. What happened?
Moe: Aw, it ain't no mystery. The whole modern world's got a swishifying effect on kids today. And their MTVs and their diet sodas ain't gonna set 'em straight, neither. You gotta do it yourself, Homer, and you gotta do it fast.
Homer: But what would turn Bart into a man fast? You have to think for me!
Moe: Well, let's see now, uh, time was you sent a boy off to war. Shooting a man'd fix 'em right up. But there's not even any wars no more, thank you very much, Warren Christopher!

Anyway this guy just needs to show his kids more Arnold movies. Pretty essential cultural education imo

I enjoy getting the refs to radio station WJZ, Strange Interlude, and Liberty magazine in Marx Brothers films, but there aren't all that many of them.

Seinfeld did a ton of that stuff!

yeah i guess it did a fair bit but i remember a commentary/interview/something where larry david went on about how he dislikes using references for jokes bcuz it places the show to squarely in a certain time period which i guess lol @ set/costume design

yeah, but you can't do much about set/costume design dating. (tho Bob Newhart shoulda eschewed the plaid suits)

the Warren Christopher joke is funny precisely BECAUSE it is so dated

it's like when Barney gets in an argument about who the best British PM was (LORD PALMERSTON!), it's the juxtaposition that a drunk would even know how Lord Palmerston is that is the basis of the joke

how = who

uh, wasn't Warren Christopher one of Clinton's Secys of State? in addition to being a Carter-era vet?

The Snow White/Queen Elizabeth episode from a couple seasons ago — awful, didn't laugh once.

Eyeballs popping out in last night's episode was really stupid.

Yeah, at the time the Warren Christopher reference was actually current. The episode aired in late '97, and Christopher had been replaced by Madeline Albright earlier that year.

right, Bill didnt really get jiggy with his atrocities til Albright came along

guess it made Moe happy though

I mean the difference is that early The Simpson had these visual tributes to things like Psycho and Officer And A Gentlemen and Patton where, if you knew those films you had an extra layer of joke to cull from. And if you didn't, you could still enjoy it. Whereas Family Chicken Robot Guy is just a steady stream of THUNDERCATS HO REMEMBER ALF YALL?!?!

compare & contrast w/ all the things you have to read first before you understand Ulysses

yeah i wasn't saying seinfeld avoided this completely but it was never the basis for humor a la those shows whiney is referring to

I dunno about that; "The Critic" has a LOT of 90's pop culture references and still remains pretty funny; I always thought the Simpsons were pretty good with not making episodes that relied on your knowing a certain aspect of pop culture (but were obviously better when you did) (of course, this applies to the good seasons only)

Worst moments in my opinion:

#1: The Ke$ha "Tik Tok" opening; no joke, just Simpsons characters miming the song, total WTF moment
#2: Using Schwarzenegger instead of Wolfcastle in the movie, which I hated because using Wolfcastle there is so much better of a joke
#3: Whenever the show turned into a Family Guy clone, with dumb meta-humor and bringing back one-episode characters, and turning all the characters into stereotypes, especially guys like Flanders that once upon a time where pretty complex characters
#4: The Armin Tamzerian episode, which was really funny, but it set the show rolling down a pretty bad path

i blame the critic and futurama for a kind of simpsons brain drain, though I guess if they were unhappy enough to want to do a spinoff, they might have sabotaged the simpsons if they were forced to stay.

The Critic ran concurrently with the best Simpsons episodes, not really sure what you mean there

Futurama is a different story; really I just feel like the Simpsons ran out of ideas; I mean they have run for an unfathomably long time and I can definitely see a lot of the good writers leaving for Futurama which was pretty much always better than the Simpsons eps that ran at the time.

Brockman introduced Wolfcastle as the star of the new movie, "Help, My Son is a Nerd!"

Wolfcastle: "My son returns from a fancy East Coast college, and I'm horrified to find he's a nerd."

Kent Brockman: "Ha, ha, ha! I'm laughing already!"

Rainier Wolfcastle: "It's not a comedy."

serious WTF that this guy finds this joke "too complicated to explain" to his kid.

i mean the joke is like 5% "lol just like schwarzeneggar" and 95% "a movie with a silly title like 'help! my son is a nerd!' turns out to be a drama."

I just wanted to reiterate that the Homer/Tony Hawk skateboard fite is one of the worst fucking things to ever happen on this show and that I have actively avoided it ever since that episode

i checked out forever when they decided to 'update' the show and have homer and marge growing up in the '90s.

i think i've said this before but i like to pretend that "homer's enemy" was the actual last episode of the simpsons and that everything since has been a crappy spinoff, a la "archie bunker's place."

"Eyeballs popping out in last night's episode was really stupid."

that actually gives me hope for the show. they need to take more stupid risks! and also make herzog a permanent character.

Enh, I just don't think The Simpsons has ever done physical comedy well (probably a difficult thing in an animated series.)

i was kinda done with this show when they had Homer and Ned go to Vegas, marry strippers and then go back to normal life. just felt totally out of step (writing style wise particularly) and hollowed out the characters completely.

Every time I think that the Simpsons' writing has just given up, I remember that the guy who wrote the "Hurricane Neddy" episode (which we were discussing upthread as comedy gold) never wrote another one. Ask him back, you think he hasn't got one more good episode in him?

xp It makes a little more sense if you've never tried alcohol before and therefore just assume that it causes you to totally lose your mind (as I did when it first aired)

I just don't think The Simpsons has ever done physical comedy well

straightup madness! eg, Homer bouncing down cliffs.

^^^ And the "Raiders of the Lost Ark" gag they did, too.

as far as it being a limitation of animation, plz see Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzL8secQBkA

i wish we could plot a graph of when people thought simpsons became unredeemable.
i bet the distribution is flatter than i think it is.

Yeah, I phrased that badly. Of course Looney Tunes, and Itchy and Scratchy too, but I'm struggling to remember a physical bit involving the Simpsons human characters that I like. Stuff like Homer getting repeatedly hit in the groin on the ski slope is overshadowed for me by verbal stuff like "stupid sexy Flanders..."

Was just going to mention the famous rake-stepping scene, C or D. I'm in the D camp.

anything with lisa

ban

the rake scene was pretty great though; i don't know why it's funnier than their later attempts at thist type of humor, it's just more absurd and less "lol wacky", my only complaint is that family guy tries this device on like every episode and it fails every time.

I actually had to go re-watch the sexy Flanders scene..."nothing at all...nothing at all...NOTHING AT ALLLLL!!!"; maybe my most quoted Simpsons line

man, the rake scene was just unbelievable.

that and Norm MacDonald's weekend update pauses were like the forbear to Family Guy "is this funny now? is this funny NOW? is this funny NOW THAT WERE STILL DOING IT?" haha rooster fight horseshit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yGJGTjV2WE

come on now

but I'm struggling to remember a physical bit involving the Simpsons human characters that I like

how about the old one when Homer steps on Bart's skateboard, falls down the stairs but then kinda just hangs upside down in the air monetarily before landing flat on his head - had a cool sense of him being deliberately repositioned in order to land in the worst possible way which makes it funnier than standard slapstick/physical pain.

also when he falls backwards onto the fire hydrant ("it's even more painful than it looks"), and when Laddy flings the frisbee at his head while he's clapping (tho that's more funny because he doesn't actually react to it).

monetarily

my money's money is all that moneys

Best Simpsons sight gag I remeber is Homer passing out after seeing Patty & Selma, thru a window, on their treadmills in workout outfits while smoking cigarettes.

but back to the Seitz piece...

straightup madness! eg, Homer bouncing down cliffs.

^^^Morbz is on a roll today. best part about this gag is them putting him in the ambulance, which then runs into the cliff, bursts into flame, the doors fly open, and Homer goes right back down the canyon

Just remembered maybe my favorite bit of physical comedy on the show: When Bart is raising a baby bird from a hatchling, and keeps stealing light bulbs from the house for an incubator. Homer keeps going to the basement with an increasingly ludicrous array of items -- pies, bowling balls, etc. -- and falling down the darkened stairs when the light doesn't come on.

and then continues whistling after falling down

the time that Bart played with a Troll figurine in the church

A TROLL FIGURINE

Lol no way. "I'm a trooooll man"

that wasn't even worthy of a joke on home improvement

the scene in the episode where bart puts all the police bullhorns together end-to-end to see how loud a noise he can make always cracks me up.

Homer keeps going to the basement with an increasingly ludicrous array of items -- pies, bowling balls, etc. -- and falling down the darkened stairs when the light doesn't come on.

I may be overreaching but I always wondered if that was a nod at the "ten cream pies" skit from Sesame St where the cook falls down the stairs ok yeah maybe I am.

the Troll figurine is just a setup for Marge to diss its tall blue hair

Sasha baron Cohen as the tour guide in the episode where they visit Israel was incredibly painful and unfunny mostly because he wouldn't shut up.

Flanders and Homer doing parkour was a pretty sad moment.

Sasha baron Cohen as the tour guide in the episode where they visit Israel was incredibly painful and unfunny mostly because he wouldn't shut up.

― Wacky Way Lounge (Evan), Thursday, March 10, 2011 9:51 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

otm. a lot of the stuff with 'hip new names in comedy bringing their flavor to the show' are more cringe-inducing than even the stiffest celebrity cameos.

the Troll figurine is just a setup for Marge to diss its tall blue hair

that's *another* issue I have with it!!

idg why people dont like Lisa episodes. some of those are my favs. 'truth is beauty and beauty truth, sir!'

Yep, "Lisa's Substitute," half of "Last Exit to Springfield," "Lost Our Lisa," "Summer of 4'2"" are all-time classics.

the one where the ren faire psychic says she almost marries hugh grant is pretty terrible.

The teenage-Maggie bits were classic. As was the "Yeah, well we saved YOUR arse in World War III!" gag.

actually I really liked that episode

the tenth season episode 'lisa gets an a' is awesome.

The last episode of The Simpsons I remember being excited about was 30 Minutes Over Tokyo. After that I started losing interest and I stopped watching full time in the middle of Season 13. For a while I didn't even bother with Fox Sunday until Fox and Adult Swim hyped the comeback of Family Guy throughout 2005.

"Yeah, well we saved YOUR arse in World War III!"
I guess this line would be funny if it came true...

I've been buying all the DVD sets as they come out and theyre currently up to S13. It is just at this point even I am starting to go "yeah ok this was a bit shit" about some of the content on S12 and 13 - the nadir so far, which I'd not seen before, was a clip show called "Gump Roast", which was utterly bollocks-lazy.

I've skimmed SNPP for what eps are on S14 and there's a barrage of shit I'd forgot all about, like "Large Marge" (lol bewbs!) and the one where they are on a reality TV show.

he one where the ren faire psychic says she almost marries hugh grant is pretty terrible.

― Philip Nunez, Thursday, March 10, 2011 8:20 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

Has some really good jokes in IMO. There's a later episode about future Lisa being president which is irredeemable though.

Even though I've been watching religiously since day 1, yeah, when I hit DVD season 12, it was seriously like a trial getting through some of those episodes

i still watch this fucking show and dont know why

I'm so thrilled they're started playing a larger (than two? of the recent seasons) mix of episodes in the afternoon and night again. It was seriously depressing the shit out of me every time it seemed like the same five newer episodes were on shuffle every week.

they've*

Simpsons is one of the few shows with enough episodes and enough fans that i think they should go ahead and add a 24 hour network of Simpsons reruns to basic cable packages.

i've said it before, but anyone who's an actual "fan" wouldn't watch a syndication episode with the two minutes cut out imo

i always thought this was a low point (NSFW)

anyone who wants to get all trv kvlt the fucking Simpsons can keep their precious 2 minutes imo

they cut all the Milhouse tranny porn out of the syndication episodes I guess

if by "fan" you mean "insufferable dick"

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_b4SA8Azw-7U/TR9yNAl5FGI/AAAAAAAAAbU/cPsFKDxN4C0/s1600/comic_book_guy.jpg

Whatever dudes, keep being like Beatles fans that only have the red and blue albums for all i care

So real Beatles fans would not listen to the red and blue albums as well?

hey don't get all bent out of shape from some critical punches to your post

i too am grossly offended by the existence of ppl too poor to buy $40 dvd sets, i mean where are their priorities

why don't they do us all a favor and just die already

really the only way to watch is bootlegged copies of the first run episodes, complete with vintage ads. Captures the zeitgeist.

First time I read Matt''s post I dismissed it as just more from-the-inner-circle crap but it's actually OTM, as I recall from watching old VCR tapes of sport from the 80s, recorded and unedited straight from the live telecast, complete with all those rock-viddish million dollar wank ads for Gillette or the airlines or whoever.

Re Lisa: Yes she can be irritating but what I find plenty humorous enough to cop her sanctimonious whining (at least in small doses), is the noisy outrage she provokes in the 'gatekeepers' and those who aspire to that status.

i too am grossly offended by the existence of ppl too poor to buy $40 dvd sets, i mean where are their priorities

― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Saturday, March 12, 2011 7:23 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Pretty sure Al is gainfully employed but sorry to all the poor and destitute people I offended while reading ILX on their Mac books and the iphone Zing app.

In a Bob Newhart commentary on a DVD of his psychologist sitcom, he said they deliberately kept topical references to a minimum so the show wouldn't date. Thast's confidence.

― kind of shrill and very self-righteous (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, March 9, 2011 4:53 PM (4 days ago) Bookmark

no it isn't, it's the exact opposite of confidence, a refusal to face up to what entertainment IS

who gives a shit if 'future generations' get it or not

also:

if it were a poem, it would need to have nearly as many footnotes as "The Waste Land"

doesn't this imply that... it's OK to have references people don't get? when it was first published, 'the waste land' didn't have footnotes... and they were sort of deliberately oblique when TSE did include them

Only way to watch Simpsons is to have someone hand-crank the cels and in-between past you on a reel while the cast reads the script out loud fuiud.

xp "Bob Newhart Show" is still funny, so . . .

When i was watching The Simpsons as a kid, there were TONS of references to American tv shows etc. that i didn't get. They were generally still funny from the context though e.g.

Wiggum: Find anything this time, boys?
Cop: Uh, no sign of him, Chief.
Wiggum: Princess Opal?
Opal: I see nothing here, but I'm afraid it's splitsville for Delta Burke and Major Dad.
Wiggum: But they seem so happy!

I didn't have a clue who either of these people were, still laughed like a drain at Wiggum's reaction.

whatever shark is left to jump, this jumps it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNrn-7zjmYw

NXX1 19 seconds ago
SIMPSONS
WHAT R U DOING
STAHP

MrMakellos 1 minute ago
This is the gravestone.

BoredInfidel 3 minutes ago
Why the hell did you people think this was a good idea?

JarzZ0 4 minutes ago
How difficult is to say "Con los terroristas"?

whittyjd 4 minutes ago
The Simpsons 1989-1999 RIP

Conor Kennedy 5 minutes ago
Why can't this show just retire gracefully and stop trying to hang on.

the last two minutes of every Simpsons show in 2024 will be a live-action clip of Matt Groening going to the bank and cashing a check or something. Or we'll watch him buy a boat.

It's become the Jay Leno of sitcoms: no one who has only seen the new shit will believe you when you tell them it was once hilarious.

can't touch the ghostbusters dance they did at the end of one episode

tbf jay leno was never funny

He was funny on The Simpsons!

This season has been so bad. The last 3 episodes are all sitting unwatched in my Hulu queueueue.

Maybe it's just perspective, but when he was on Letterman in the 80s, he was on fire. He was never, ever funny on the Tonight Show, not when he guested for Carson, not ever. First time I saw him guest host, it was immediately apparent this wasn't the same Leno. His 80s shit seemed hilarious at the time (and most comedians hold this view, fwiw; cf. Patton Oswalt's appraisal/takedown), and it seems to hold up.

102. the sudden frequency of montages set to random pop music in recent seasons -- in particular one scene set to an Elvis Costello deep cut where I was just like wtf is this shit, the writers are now just shoe-horning in songs from their record collections? and it wasn't like this was the episode where EC guest starred or anything, it was just for no real reason.

the couple of seasons where this happened like every episode were the fucking worst.

This season has been so bad. The last 3 episodes are all sitting unwatched in my Hulu queueueue.

― ARE YOU HIRING A NANNY OR A SHAMAN (Phil D.), Saturday, March 2, 2013 3:45 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hardly Kirk-ing was pretty good

i think the subtext of that bill hicks routine where jay leno commits suicide on the air out of shame is that leno used to be funny, then sold out. anyone have any actual examples of JL being funny?

Simpsons co-creator Sam Simon has metastatic cancer, only months to live: http://www.examiner.com/article/sam-simon-has-metastasized-cancer

This is heartbreaking. He seems like a great guy in addition to being the co-creator the best show ever.

That is awful! Terrible news.

Um, as far as thread topic goes... that smug look the animators always draw the Simpsons having these days- whenever the characters are supposed to be doing something "cool" I guess. Usually eyelids are present to portray "confidence" in correlation with a shitty smirk. It isn't a specific moment as much as a recurring one. I'm wondering if anyone knows what I mean?

wow, that's awful. I remember the guy from "High Stakes Poker"!!

I caught a recent-ish rerun I had never seen last night (Homer buys an ice-cream truck, Marge becomes a popsicle-stick sculptress) that was not only completely unfunny but quite mean-spirited as well. Homer causing a man's heart attack by forcing him to count out change for $100 in coins belongs on this list if it isn't already.

10000000001: having an episode tonight titled "YOLO"

I find it so jarring when they have references to 21st century stuff in the Simpsons, in my head the show is always still set in the 90s

I can't accept the idea of Bart having been born in 2003.

The Simpsons is always at its worst when it's topical...enough with the Mapples already

ended up giving new Simpsons a chance on some season 28 episodes. the first was a two-parter where Mr. Burns gets into a feud with a hip hop mogul (which he fights with a blinged out rap-producing Homer complete with tracksuit and gold chains) and at one point they go to see Milhouse and he is now a hip hop expert who is flipping through vinyl records telling them the history of rap.

next watched "Kamp Krustier", a retro episode that is a sort of Rogue One-style play on nostalgia that ends up rubbing midichlorians in your face. taking place during season 4, this tells the tale of everything that happened at the end of that classic episode. you know the one where the Simpsons kids experience a harrowing Hell on Earth farce parody of 80s summer camp comedies and conclude by having Krusty take them all to a vacation to Tijuana, Mexico in a good faith gesture of ribaldry & redemption?

well, it turns out that when they got back from all that fun stuff we aren't going to see, the kids all had PTSD! doesn't that sound like a great episode? characters actively trying to suppress memories of their earlier exploits! bet you never knew that there was a third kid in that canoe! and that he died! but the kids forgot about it - until this episode! and then they find out he didn't die! so nothing was changed at all, and nothing of consequence happened! we just ruined a brilliant and fun ending to a classic episode and clogged it up with unnecessary backstory for nothing!

oh yeah in the hip hop Homer episode, there is a goose that is paired to Homer, cos i guess they couldn't think of anything to write for him to do, so most of the comedy is him chasing this goose around and getting bit by it. it's like they are writing these with Mad Libs or something.

http://i.imgur.com/oz8xIQk.jpg

28 seasons, jesus