UP YOURS, CHILDREN! The Simpsons Season 9 Poll

This is one of my favorite exchanges from the Simpsons, still:

Homer: Hmm, I don't know... I can just imagine what Marge would say!
Marge: (In Homer's imagination) Homer, I insist you steal that car!
Homer: I'll do it!

A lot of duff ones here, though still some funny jokes.

Movementarians for me.

(That's the Joy of Sect, sorry)

the whole balloon bit in "Natural Born Kissers" made me hurt myself laughing the first 2 or 3 times i watched it and i don't give a f if u d

What a mixed bag! Simpson Tide is the first episode I can remember watching at time of broadcast and not laughing at once. Trash of the Titans and Das Bus are pretty dreadful also. OTOH Cartridge Family, The Two Mrs..., Bart the Carny and Natural Born Kissers are all great, and I'll rep for the New York episode. The infamous Armin Tamsarian episode actually has a lot of laughs in too.

City of New York for (1) the whole crab juice/wheel clamping sequence (2) Marge windowshopping: "Too bad I already have a pair of shoes" and (3) "Of course you'll have a bad impression of New York if you only focus on the pimps and the C.H.U.D.'s."

"Up yours, children" is one of the best lines full stop

Yeah this is pretty much where I get off the train, but the NY one might be the best "Simpsons go to _____" episode.

my sentimentalism has me leaning towards 'Lisa the Simpson'. 'The Joy of Sect' and 'The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson' are the only serious competitors, really. Not much of it is completely awful at this point but I have few strong feelings either way for most of it.

I really don't like The Joy of Sect.

lost our lisa or NY probably

I really don't like The Joy of Sect.

― I wish to incorporate disco into my small business (chap), Monday, December 16, 2013 2:55 PM (10 minutes ago)

Nananananananana FISHING FISHING FISHING

I watched all of these when they originally aired, and haven't seen any since. Looking over episode summaries, there are so many that I don't remember at all. The New York and Movementarians are the ones I remember the most.

Also, remembering this just made me chuckle:

Drill Sergeant: Look soldier, you don't like me, and I don't like you.
Homer: I like you.
Drill Sergeant: Well, I don't like you.
Homer: Maybe you'd like me if you got to know me better.

Some decent quotables out of this season, like Lionel Hutz's, "Marge, there's 'the truth' [grins and nods] and 'the truth' [scowls and shakes head]." And Homer's "Don't you hate pants?!" from Last Temptation.

Aside from the rather pointless ending (a hallmark of the show from season 7 forward), I really do like "Trash of the Titans," at least the whole first segment from the execs brainstorming "Love Day" to "Good news, I got in a fight with the garbagemen and they're not going to pick up our garbage anymore!" Homer spending his entire budget in the first week is pretty hilarious as well.

"Das Bus," I feel like it gets a bad rap but it's lighthearted and silly enough to not be inoffensive, and Bart's report on Libya is pretty all-time. Great one-liners, too, from "Go, banana!" to "Zeppelin rules!"

The scene in "Bart Carny" with Wiggum trying to bribe Homer is pretty awesome, as is Marge trying to buy a cup for Bart in "Bart Star."

Voted "NY." "Principle and the Pauper" is where I got off the bus, but "Das Bus" was pretty classic.

"We're so hungry we could eat Arby's!"

"Lisa's Sax" is the only one I watched more than twice (and most of these I've only seen once).

"It tastes like burning!"
"We'll live like kings! Damn hell ass kings!"

My feelings about this season can be summed up with a "yeuuuuch. I'll take a crab juice."

That's what you get for not hailing to the chimp.

The Mad Magazine bit in the NY episode was neat, but the rest of it...ecch!

for me it's a tossup between 'the cartridge family' and 'lisa's sax.' the former is about as shocking as the show ever got (marge opening her eyes to see homer pointing a gun at her head is one of the most unsettling jokes in the history of the series, probably wouldn't raise an eyebrow on 'family guy' or latter-day simpsons but in the context of this relatively normal era it's still kind of o_O), and the latter is just a very (uncharacteristically, at this point) sweet episode and a good conclusion to the 'heartwarming origin story' series of episodes.

worst ones: 'all singing, all dancing,' 'bart carny,' 'lisa the skeptic.' really don't like 'miracle on evergreen terrace' but it's saved by barney's line 'jesus must be rolling over in his grave!'

"Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" does have my favorite ever Kent Brockman/Homer Simpson interaction (yes, even better than "Last Exit to Springfield"):

Kent Brockman: Kent Brockman here for a followup with Springfield's favorite hard-luck family, the Simpsons. Folks, any words for the Christmas thief if he's watching?

Homer: Eh, yes.. Kent. Uh, hello... jerk. We may never find you, and we should probably all stop looking. But one thing's for sure -- you do exist.

Kent Brockman: Strong words, strong bewildering words.

http://deadhomersociety.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/miracleonevergreenterrace3.png

Actually that whole episode is some A+ material from Brockman.

god that stupid angel episode is so bad

Most of what I can remember about 'Simpson Tide' is not very good, I'm still for grateful for ZOMBIE LENIN, though

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lksmc4bhel1qg0rnuo1_500.jpg

I'd forgotten about that! Probably my favorite moment of the season (even though I hated that episode).

"A gym? What's a gym? ... Ooohhh, a ~gym~."

"Lisa the Simpson" bothered me, I don't like the way it condemns Bart to a lifetime of idiocy. He's a bright kid! (Of course the existence of Herb makes the whole episode make no sense.)

Das Bus, l guess

OH totally forgot what "Lost our Lisa" referred to! That's a rare sentimental gem that I like a lot.

Incidentally, I LOL'ed at the Wikipedia description for "All Singing..." (which I've never even heard of) that feels compelled to include an explanatory link to VCR.

"Wait, wait, wait! Here comes Lee Marvin! Thank God! He's always drunk and violent!"

use this line irl now, whenever Lee Marvin comes on TV

Yeah the paint yr wagon bit in that one is great

Tempted to vote for the one about standup

still sing "seee the angel, it's my angel, no-one else's" to myself now and then

I love Lisa the Simpson, but I have a particular soft spots for Lisa episodes in general

xp btw is there a rolling Simpsons thread or are there too few people who still watch it?

I like the angel episode. The whole school archaeology trip, Ralph's inability to say "Principal Skinner" in his excitement, Lisa trying to get the family excited about complaining about the mall, Lionel Hutz just having an apple in his briefcase, "We beat cancer!", there's a lot to like in it. It's hardly Season 5 material, but compared to the shitshows of Season 11 …

The "Lost Our Lisa" bus ride is so great! "No, dear, this seat is for my change purse."

And the whole police department "you won a boat" scam in the angel episode!

it has great moments (all of these episodes do) but i hate the characterization of lisa. her gradual transformation from a bright and idealistic kid into a smug richard dawkins figure who spends all her time lecturing the other characters is one of the most depressing things about the series.

yeah at this point the show is still good enough that even the weakest episodes have a ton of great lines. even the clip show has 'paint that wagon'!

And that line about the wait list for the video of Waiting To Exhale ("Don't hold your breath.")

^^^^

this season is split between episodes i like and episodes i have no recollection of, with a few "i could've sworn this was like season 13" ones sprinkled in (all bad) and also "This Little Wiggy," which might be good, but i haven't seen it since i was 10 and i don't trust 10 year old me on ralph episodes

ones that i think are good (but might be terrible if i saw them now)

City of NY vs Homer
Lisa's Sax
The Cartridge Family
Lisa the Skeptic
Bart Carny
The Joy of Sect
Das Bus (extra pts cause this was shown in 9th grade english)
Lisa the Simpson
The Trouble With Trillions

I find myself mixing up Lisa's Sax and 'Round Springfield, I think the result is that I think more of the former than I should and less of the latter than I should.

Not a lot of talk about "Girly Edition," which is a pretty good "Bart and Lisa" episode even if it does have a dumb ending and even if it did give us Crazy Cat Lady.

I mean

http://s3.sidereel.com/episodes/17679/featured/55651.jpg

her gradual transformation from a bright and idealistic kid into a smug richard dawkins figure who spends all her time lecturing the other characters is one of the most depressing things about the series.

That sounds like half of ILX, no?

actually we smug ilx figures spend all of our time lecturing richard dawkins.

crazy cat lady would've been a good one-time joke. i mean, she throws not just one cat, but an armful of cats, what's not to love?

Notable that Lisa the Skeptic was a David S. Cohen script. He would go on to do that sort of thing a lot better on Futurama, which was a much better show for him.

Am I the only person who likes crazy cat lady? I empathise a lot with her.

"stealing, stealing, stealing a car for Moe!
Da da duh da, da dun da, insurance fraud today!"

I SING THIS ALL THE FUCKING TIME.

apparently i like 4/5ths of the whole show more than Scrutiny

Its funny this cropped up today too cos just this morning on the TV news I heard China described as "a land of contrasts" and I chortled loudly to myself.

I can't decide whether Crazy Cat Lady is an inherently bad character, or if it's just that she was introduced around the time the show started being mostly bad. Like, if she had been created around season 4 would there have been lots of funny Crazy Cat Lady scenes?

'now remember, otto, we're trusting you with our greatest natural resource. (long pause) the school bus.'

I remember us discussing in the previous season's thread (?) how Crazy Cat Lady was funny til she became a recurring character.

So, you mean by her second appearance?

this series of polls has taught me that i do not watch this show with the reverence of other folks

http://drawception.com/viewgame/6n4nPTD3g5/cat-sticks-its-butt-in-owners-face/

I love drawception

xxpost

exactly

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzm37s0pX01qemz6qo1_500.gif

Its not until S10 that I get my first genuinely "ugh this really sucks" moment with the show (that'd be "when you dish upon a star" - the first really gratuitous use of Celebs As Themselves For the Heck of It).

Lots to like in this season and the next, that said. Suprisingly, the Halloween ep this season is pretty weak (tho Homega Man is ok). I'm tossing up between Last Temptation of Krust (Krusty as Carlin, nice gag), and Principal and the Pauper for the sheer audacity of the canon-fuckery they did.

"When You Dish Upon a Star" really set the template for just about every celebrity-focused ep that followed.

I hate that whole "oh hey firstname lastname!" clunkiness of their announcing people.

you could say the show was entering its '70s scooby doo' phase.

Bart: It's allowance day. DING DING DING DING DING.
Marge: You don't deserve an allowance.
Lisa: We deserve an allowance though. DING DING DING DING DING.
Homer (running): ICE CREAM MAN ICE CREAM MAN ICE CREAM MAN

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Nothing stands out enough to decide. Think I might have to vote for Armin Tamzarian.

'lisa's sax' really could've been a good series finale. homer even reminisces about watching 'badly drawn filler on the tracey ullmann show'!

That "Star"one had a great Homer line: "If celebrities didn't want people pawing thru their garbage and calling them gay then they shouldn't have tried to express themselves creatively!"

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Every episode that got zero votes > "Trash of the Titans"

(yes, even the musical clip episode, because the one minute Homer and Bart's horror over Paint Your Wagon is still funnier than all of the minutes of that episode)

weird results.