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Someone mentioned Steamed Hams, which is a good enough excuse for me to post this game I made https://monsterjail.itch.io/steamedhams For whatever reason a lot of people have put up different speedrun videos for it too |
The moment you realised the Simpsons is now terrible • Page 41
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minky-kong 14,707 posts
Seen 7 hours ago
Registered 13 years agoThe London episode is the absolute nadir for me (of the ones I've bothered to watch past its prime), the whole thing is just sycophantic celebrity cameos and lazy "Look at Homer in this landmark!" jokes. -
For me it went from something I always watched to something I'd watch if I remembered it was on to something I'd not seen for quite a while. The worst episode I saw was one with Lady Gaga which was complete rubbish. Honestly I don't know what they were doing with that one. There were still OK episodes when I last saw it, probably about 8 years ago, but nowhere near as good as the older ones.
I tend to agree that it lost something as the plots became unrealistic although for some reason I don't mind that Homer went to space and it was revealed he'd been in the Be Sharps around season 5. There's something I can't quite pinpoint about it being a strength that they made a realistic cartoon where they didn't have normal series problems like the kids growing up but also they could get away with resetting everything after each episode. -
BreadBinLidHero 10,416 posts
Seen 5 minutes ago
Registered 11 years agoAs outlandish as Armin Tamsarian was the humour was still intact, it didn't really start to get shit IMO until the humour started to change, which started happening a bit in Seasons 9 and 10. Then it went off a cliff and we started to get locations and guest stars, as well as awful attempts at Family Guy-style randomness. -
Syrette 51,047 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 18 years agothelzdking wrote:
Worse than actual Family Guy randomness?
as well as awful attempts at Family Guy-style randomness. -
JamboWayOh 23,052 posts
Seen 59 minutes ago
Registered 8 years agothelzdking wrote:
Ahhh man the guest stars in the Simpsons are its worst aspect at times, usually because that guest star sounds like their reading their script for the first time. One episode where Homer went to band camp displayed that entirely with people like Lenny Kravitz and Elvis Costello sounding so flat.
As outlandish as Armin Tamsarian was the humour was still intact, it didn't really start to get shit IMO until the humour started to change, which started happening a bit in Seasons 9 and 10. Then it went off a cliff and we started to get locations and guest stars, as well as awful attempts at Family Guy-style randomness.
I also noticed that the show increasingly went towards pop culture for its main plot threads, there was one involving authors such as Thomas Pynchon that felt so forced that you knew immediately the writers did the episode just so they could meet those authors. I don't think the Simpsons has gone to peak Family Guy style randomness yet though, their stuff has gotten weak but it's not as desperate as Family Guy is currently. -
BreadBinLidHero 10,416 posts
Seen 5 minutes ago
Registered 11 years agoSyrette wrote:
Yeah, it's sad to see The Simpsons imitate something that even at it's very shitty best could never hold a candle to classic Simpsons.
thelzdking wrote:
Worse than actual Family Guy randomness?
as well as awful attempts at Family Guy-style randomness. -
Rhaegyr 5,365 posts
Seen 1 day ago
Registered 9 years agoZombie Simpsons is one of the best reads on the internet if anyone's not checked it out. -
BreadBinLidHero 10,416 posts
Seen 5 minutes ago
Registered 11 years agoJamboWayOh wrote:
I rarely watch it these days, but I saw the band camp one the other day, Christ on a bike it was bad.
thelzdking wrote:
Ahhh man the guest stars in the Simpsons are its worst aspect at times, usually because that guest star sounds like their reading their script for the first time. One episode where Homer went to band camp displayed that entirely with people like Lenny Kravitz and Elvis Costello sounding so flat.
As outlandish as Armin Tamsarian was the humour was still intact, it didn't really start to get shit IMO until the humour started to change, which started happening a bit in Seasons 9 and 10. Then it went off a cliff and we started to get locations and guest stars, as well as awful attempts at Family Guy-style randomness.
I also noticed that the show increasingly went towards pop culture for its main plot threads, there was one involving authors such as Thomas Pynchon that felt so forced that you knew immediately the writers did the episode just so they could meet those authors. I don't think the Simpsons has gone to peak Family Guy style randomness yet though, their stuff has gotten weak but it's not as desperate as Family Guy is currently. -
Rhaegyr 5,365 posts
Seen 1 day ago
Registered 9 years agoS11 is definitely the season it went off the deep end - S10 still had the odd gem like They Saved Lisa's Brain.
S3 to S8 is about as good as TV can get. -
JamboWayOh 23,052 posts
Seen 59 minutes ago
Registered 8 years ago@thelzdking
They had Tom Petty on that episode too... -
Psiloc 6,015 posts
Seen 1 hour ago
Registered 13 years agoRhaegyr wrote:
Can confirm.
Zombie Simpsons is one of the best reads on the internet if anyone's not checked it out. -
DrStrangelove 15,433 posts
Seen 25 minutes ago
Registered 12 years agoRhaegyr wrote:
I think my favourite is actually S2. Humour-wise close to the following seasons, but it still had a touch of the more emotional themes of S1 (which I find very underrated).
S3 to S8 is about as good as TV can get. -
Dougs 98,122 posts
Seen 4 hours ago
Registered 18 years agoI'd love to watch the first 10 seasons again on one of them there streaming services.
Edited by Dougs at 16:28:06 11-04-2018 -
disusedgenius 10,656 posts
Seen 2 hours ago
Registered 13 years agoDougs wrote:
I expect that'll be one for the Disney streaming thing, once they have it up and running.
I'd love to watch the first 10 seasons again on one of them there streaming services. -
OnlyJoeKing 1,224 posts
Seen 2 hours ago
Registered 9 years agoRhaegyr wrote:
Thank you!!! Had not heard of it, dipped in a toe and it looks fantastic. Cheers
Zombie Simpsons is one of the best reads on the internet if anyone's not checked it out. -
BreadBinLidHero 10,416 posts
Seen 5 minutes ago
Registered 11 years agoZombie Simpsons is really interesting. -
Dougs 98,122 posts
Seen 4 hours ago
Registered 18 years agodisusedgenius wrote:
Ah yeah. I got a bit excited when NowTV added Futurama
Dougs wrote:
I expect that'll be one for the Disney streaming thing, once they have it up and running.
I'd love to watch the first 10 seasons again on one of them there streaming services. -
Skirlasvoud 4,039 posts
Seen 2 years ago
Registered 11 years ago
Edited by Skirlasvoud at 23:37:54 11-04-2018 -
Rhaegyr 5,365 posts
Seen 1 day ago
Registered 9 years agoHank Azaria 'willing to step aside' from Simpsons Apu role
Granted this won't effect most people here as I doubt anyone watches anything after S9/S10 but I'm curious on what people think of this?
Personally I'm not sure where it stops. Does the characters attitude and mannerisms change? Do voices behind other characters need to change, such as Dr Hibbert, Bumblebee Man, Carl, Groundskeeper Willie etc? Would anyone even care at this point?
The characters on the show are practically all stereotypes so I've no idea how you'd deal with it. -
Skirlasvoud 4,039 posts
Seen 2 years ago
Registered 11 years agoI watched show where Hank Azaria made that claim on the Colbert Show.
I found it remarkable how enthusiastic the audience was at the claim "the show is still going!". At this point it's probably so much of an institution that the mainstream don't want it to see dissapear simply because it's part of their world view, even though they never watch.
Yes, all characters are practically stereotypes, but Apu is the only stereotype of a specific minority. If there had been a diversity of this minority, it would've been less striking. I think that's the difference.
At this point its better to just burn the entire thing to the ground... -
Rhaegyr 5,365 posts
Seen 1 day ago
Registered 9 years agoI'm not so sure, I'd say Bumbleebee Man and Groundskeeper Willie fall into this bracket. Fuck knows what the solution is though. -
spindle9988 5,204 posts
Seen 2 hours ago
Registered 14 years agoWhen Ricky Gervais did his episode. -
minky-kong 14,707 posts
Seen 7 hours ago
Registered 13 years ago
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Fake_Blood 10,836 posts
Seen 4 hours ago
Registered 11 years agoSkirlasvoud wrote:
What about Ned as christian stereotype? Okay there's Maude and the kids but Apu has a wife and kids too in the series.
Yes, all characters are practically stereotypes, but Apu is the only stereotype of a specific minority. If there had been a diversity of this minority, it would've been less striking. I think that's the difference.
Then there's the stereotypical germans trying to buy over the power plant from burns, and the fat german exchange student. -
Skirlasvoud 4,039 posts
Seen 2 years ago
Registered 11 years agoFake_Blood wrote:
Good question.
Skirlasvoud wrote:
What about Ned as christian stereotype? Okay there's Maude and the kids but Apu has a wife and kids too in the series.
Yes, all characters are practically stereotypes, but Apu is the only stereotype of a specific minority. If there had been a diversity of this minority, it would've been less striking. I think that's the difference.
Then there's the stereotypical germans trying to buy over the power plant from burns, and the fat german exchange student.
I think it has to do with how hard any sub-type already had to work to maintain a respectable imagine in a society and in front of the audience to which the joke is told.
Whenever a German, Italian, American, Catholic/Protestant or any other type of Western stereotype is made fun of, a Western audience will recognize it easily as just so much buffoonery, because the reality of these sub-groups is well known to them.
Whenever a more "exotic" sub-type is made made fun, it might be harder for a Western audience to see the difference with reality, because of unfamiliary and/or because prejiduces are easier to hold.
I'm a fan of History, so I know that the Irish for example, didn't always have the best of it. Aside from blackface, insensitive performance would characterize them as drunken idlers who are slavish followers of the pope. When Kennedy was elected, there was actually a row over his Catholicism and that barrier was broken when he managed to get elected. Nowadays it's less of a big deal in America.
Fortunately the Irish in America have also come a long way since then and nowadays we recognize the jest when the Simpsons portray them as tap dancing leprechauns. It's a safer target, just like Homer can be potrayed as a stereotypical American. The target demographic should be sturdy enough to suffer a playful jab and indeed, not much AS much fuss is raised when the Simpsons do an Irish wife-beater joke.
Do the same to a non-Western "other" or more reputation-vulnerable target however, especially when they're still trying to build a reputation and their struggle against prejudice isn't over yet, and you validly risk undermining their work.
Whether or not a target should be able to endure a playful jab since their reputation is well enough established within the audience, or if they're a weaker minority that deserves a little protection from the risk of prejudice, is a completely different matter and I in no way feel fit enough to debate.
That's my theory... at least.
I can remember the Irish-American audience not running the theatre caricatures of themselves out of town at first, since they didn't feel powerful enough. Then there came the time that they felt like they needed to work on their reputation and they did. Then, finally after a few decades, they became tolerant of minor jabs.
I think the Indian-American are in a similar pattern now. Not daring to speak up at first, but now coming to a moment where they want to claim their own reputation.
Edited by Skirlasvoud at 17:46:31 25-04-2018
Edited by Skirlasvoud at 17:48:09 25-04-2018 -
Jono62 26,556 posts
Seen 3 hours ago
Registered 13 years agoFake_Blood wrote:
There's also the stereotypical Italian. Think most of the stereotypes are voiced by Hank.
Skirlasvoud wrote:
What about Ned as christian stereotype? Okay there's Maude and the kids but Apu has a wife and kids too in the series.
Yes, all characters are practically stereotypes, but Apu is the only stereotype of a specific minority. If there had been a diversity of this minority, it would've been less striking. I think that's the difference.
Then there's the stereotypical germans trying to buy over the power plant from burns, and the fat german exchange student. -
Fake_Blood 10,836 posts
Seen 4 hours ago
Registered 11 years agoSkirlasvoud wrote:
That actually made a lot of sense sir, thank you.
Fake_Blood wrote:
Good question.
Skirlasvoud wrote:
What about Ned as christian stereotype? Okay there's Maude and the kids but Apu has a wife and kids too in the series.
Yes, all characters are practically stereotypes, but Apu is the only stereotype of a specific minority. If there had been a diversity of this minority, it would've been less striking. I think that's the difference.
Then there's the stereotypical germans trying to buy over the power plant from burns, and the fat german exchange student.
I think it has to do with how hard any sub-type already had to work to maintain a respectable imagine in a society and in front of the audience to which the joke is told.
Whenever a German, Italian, American, Catholic/Protestant or any other type of Western stereotype is made fun of, a Western audience will recognize it easily as just so much buffoonery, because the reality of these sub-groups is well known to them.
Whenever a more "exotic" sub-type is made made fun, it might be harder for a Western audience to see the difference with reality, because of unfamiliary and/or because prejiduces are easier to hold.
I'm a fan of History, so I know that the Irish for example, didn't always have the best of it. Aside from blackface, insensitive performance would characterize them as drunken idlers who are slavish followers of the pope. When Kennedy was elected, there was actually a row over his Catholicism and that barrier was broken when he managed to get elected. Nowadays it's less of a big deal in America.
Fortunately the Irish in America have also come a long way since then and nowadays we recognize the jest when the Simpsons portray them as tap dancing leprechauns. It's a safer target, just like Homer can be potrayed as a stereotypical American. The target demographic should be sturdy enough to suffer a playful jab and indeed, not much AS much fuss is raised when the Simpsons do an Irish wife-beater joke.
Do the same to a non-Western "other" or more reputation-vulnerable target however, especially when they're still trying to build a reputation and their struggle against prejudice isn't over yet, and you validly risk undermining their work.
Whether or not a target should be able to endure a playful jab since their reputation is well enough established within the audience, or if they're a weaker minority that deserves a little protection from the risk of prejudice, is a completely different matter and I in no way feel fit enough to debate.
That's my theory... at least.
I can remember the Irish-American audience not running the theatre caricatures of themselves out of town at first, since they didn't feel powerful enough. Then there came the time that they felt like they needed to work on their reputation and they did. Then, finally after a few decades, they became tolerant of minor jabs.
I think the Indian-American are in a similar pattern now. Not daring to speak up at first, but now coming to a moment where they want to claim their own reputation.
Edited by Skirlasvoud at 17:46:31 25-04-2018
I never regarded the Apu character as offensive, he's a pretty likeable guy, and I seem to remember a couple episodes where they expanded his story arc, I even think it got a tiny bit into Indian culture. I think the simpsons is the first time I ever heard of the god Vishnu.
But I can also understand the Indian guy that heard the sentence "thank you come again" once too many and is sick of the stereotype.
Come to think of it, the simpsons have always ridden that line between being funny and being offensive, but it's a line that's always in motion.
Heh, in 10 years they can ask Whoopi to do one of these for the simpsons.
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Ultimately it’s up to the south Asian community to decide if the character is iffy or not. We can sit here and say “I don’t see the difference between Apu and Dr. Hibbert”, but all that proves is you don’t see the difference, not that there isn’t one.
It’s hard to put your finger on, but I can 100% imagine a south Asian kid having “thank you, come again” shouted at them, but I don’t see the Dr. Hibbert chuckle being used for the same purpose or having anything like the same effect.
However intangible I can definitely see that the Apu character is more problematic. I don’t know what you do about it now, though.
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