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Which seasons do you think are best?
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What episodes are best? If you like episode Such-and-Such and it's not in a good season - I can download just that episode.
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[𝙻𝚘𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐...]
I thought I had a third question. Maybe I'll edit that later.
I would like to take this opportunity to dissect one of the greatest joke writing in modern TV history (and thereby ruining it)
Homer Simpson (to a car full of completely disinterested kids): "Now, Grand Funk Railroad paved the way for Jefferson Airplane which cleared the way for Jefferson Starship."
The first layer of the joke is Homer being a typical uncool dad, talking about bands that were cool when he was growing up to kids who really didn't care. It's relatable, and in line with Homer not being cool. Most people can relate to this, it works on a surface level as a joke for the plot.
The second layer of the joke is that what he said doesn't make any sense, Jefferson Airplane predates Grand Funk Railroad by 4 years. It's in line with Homer being stupid and/or misremembering key facts while he's confidently lecturing kids about something seemingly important to him. The second layer of the joke for people who know about classic rock history.
The third layer of the joke is that he's talking about the band names: Railroad > Airplane > Starship. He was never talking about the music of the bands he was listing to disinterested kids, he was talking about the modes of transport in the band names. The third layer of the joke is probably missed by most people upon first viewing even if they caught the second layer of Homer stating something wrong as a fact to children he was trying to educate.
All this in less than 10 seconds. The line works for the scene, helps progress the plot, is in character both for Homer's intelligence/misplaced confidence as well as feeling uncool and dated. This isn't even the funniest thing golden age Simpsons pumped out nor the best episode overall.
God what a great TV show.
Yeah, when they were at their prime, each joke would have multiple layers. I still get a kick for finally figuring out "Man Getting Hit By Football" wasn't supposed to be a comedy ("This isn't America's Funniest Home Videos").
"You kids don't know Grand Funk? The wild shirtless lyrics of Mark Farner? The bong-rattling bass of Mel Schacher? The competent drumwork of Don Brewer? Oh, man!"
The best part is that these jokes are all seamlessly integrated into a heartfelt story of a father trying to connect with his children.
Every single line there, too.
Describing not the voice or appearance, but lyrics as shirtless
Describing something as bong-rattling to your 8 and 10 year old children and their classmates.
Describing Don Brewer as competent after all the other outlandish compliments to the other band members
Such a good show.
Early Simpsons is Season 1 - 8 which almost everyone thinks is good except for people who think Season 1 is too wonky (the wonkiness comes from some Season 1 episodes more resembling longer Tracey Ullman shorts than actual Simpsons episodes) or purists who think Season 8 was when the Simpsons started to run out of ideas. Seasons 9 - 12 was when Mike Scully is showrunner, and it's a contentious 4 seasons. Most Simpsons fans would say that the decline in quality was underway by the time Scully was showrunner. The argument is mostly when. Did the decline began in the second half of Season 8, did it happen in Season 9 with that infamous episode with Skinner, did it happen at the end of Season 10, did it happen in Season 13 when Al Jean took over showrunning duties, and so on? Everyone has their own hot take.
I'm a traditionalist. The Tracey Ullman shorts are awesome although mostly interesting as a historical curiosity if you're not a Simpsons fan, Season 1 - 8 are the good seasons, the Scully years are hit and miss, with more hits in Season 9 - 10 and more misses in Season 11 - 12, and Al Jean taking over showrunning duties is when the Simpsons became what many people term Zombie Simpsons. The movie is whatevs and while many Simpsons Youtubers swear by the newer seasons not sucking as hard, especially since Al Jean is no longer a full-time showrunner, I can't find myself caring after all these decades. Plus, it's very painful hearing Marge's VA these days.
The episode which introduces Frank Grimes is memorable. Think what would happen if a person outside the Simpsons universe moved into Springfield and became Homer's coworker.
Barney's argument with Wade Boggs from that episode is great. I actually only just learned about Boggs' drinking feats when I got to that episode of IASIP, which makes it even funnier on a rewatch.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
I'm a huge Simpsons fan and I agree that seasons 1-12ish are peak TV. The show stays good until like season 15 but definitely starts to slip a little after 12. Nearly all the Treehouse of Horror episodes are really fun. I'm also partial to the Sideshow Bob episodes like Cape Feare where the family has to change their identity and relocate because of him & Sideshow Bob Roberts where he runs for mayor. Nearly every episode is a banger though, the show had so much heart back then.
Has artist Jasper Johns ever stolen anything from you Mr Pynchon? Or has your total reclusive anonymity helped protect you from his kleptomania?
Honestly, I can’t really think of any memorable episodes even though I enjoyed the early seasons.
Actually now that I think about, I like the episode where Homer becomes a genius. He proved that god wasn’t real, and it also showed that Flanders was also a genius enough to understand the proof and destroyed it so no one else could find out lol
The episode where the Bleeding Gums dies, and Lisa is crying in her room. Homer comes in while holding Maggie and sits next to Lisa and tells her to not worry because they can go to the pound and get a new jazzman. The image of Homer taking care of his baby while also being a naive father makes the moment very sweet even if it ultimately made Lisa cry even harder lol
Show
I like the episodes where Homer somehow has a deep understanding of an abstract/difficult concept, like when he schools Apu for trying to fix his karma then slams the door
There’s also the one where Moe steals Homer’s alcoholic drink and his bar becomes the hot trendy bar. I like it because of the Flamin Moe song they sang lol
- I'm going to be one of those people and say that peak simpsons was seasons 3-7. Afterwards they try to get too clever for their own good, lampshading everything and mostly not even bothering to write actual endings to episodes. Sometimes it works, but often times it just doesn't. You could kinda feel they were running out of stories they could fully realize within 23 minutes. But it's very lofty criticism, very few shows manage to be as consistently excellent as the Simpsons were for its golden age. It's still the greatest show of all time.
- There's too many to choose from: "Lisa's Substitute" might be as heartfelt as the show ever got, "Last Exit to Springfield" is just a completely irreverent joke parade for 23 minutes, "Bart's Comet" somehow goes from ridiculous spectacle and chaos to quiet and poignant, "Treehouse of Horror III" (and IV and V) are peak pop-culture parodies (the kind you can't make anymore).
I really really love the Simpsons, don't think there is any other show that's as dear to my heart as it. Still remember the first time I ever saw it, when my dad watched "Faith Off", the episode where Bart becomes a miracle faith healer on his PC with a TV tuner card.
I forgot where I learned this, but I remember hearing that after The Simpsons were renewed for their 7th season, most of the writers assumed that would be the last so they went a bit more outlandish and less grounded.
This is because The Flintstones only lasted 6 seasons and they didn't imagine their show would get that much more than the cultural cornerstone of US TV animation at the time.
Also, as seasons 8 onwards were being produced, fewer and fewer of the original writing staff remained, and the new blood included people who watched the Simpsons growing up or as young adults. As you may know, the vast majority of fans of any franchise, be it video games or sports or fiction have absolute dogshit ideas and should not be in charge of the media they're a fan of. It slowly devolved into "episode concepts I thought would have made a good episode when I was 16" like what if there was a Harry Potter parody or what if there was a celebrity cameo that was cringe?
For example, the baseball episode of the Simpsons was a good use of celebrity cameos as themselves because they were can still be replaced with a fictional in universe parallel without much issue. Another example is Leonard Nimoy's cameo. If it was a weird one off character saying the things he said, it would still work as a gag (outside of being beamed up Star Trek style)
They did definitely go back and forth between more outlandish and spectacular stories and more personal stories even before then, like he goes to space in season 5 and then season 6 tried to get "back to the family". They made jokes they were "halfway there" when they made their one-hundredth episode. This clip that they aired back when they only had run like 60 episodes really sums it all up.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
I'm a 4th level Simpsons Fan, I only watch the Tracey Ullman shorts.
Bush's time out of office when that aired is pretty much the same as if they did that premise now about Obungler, and Ford showing up at the end is equivalent to Bush Jr if he'd been a single-termer
All episodes starting from the second season until circa 2000 are gold. After having told every story the scripts and characters descended into ridiculousness.
My favourite episode is the one where Homer wants to become a clown. It's so stuffed with jokes and silly ideas.
without question the best comedy tv show of all time, even though by now there are more bad seasons than good ones. honestly probably the peak of amerikkkan culture
Death to America
- idk seasons 1-12?
- individual episodes are "great many theory", the quality of the show is not captured in a single episode. but everyone like's the monorail episode so
I remember watching the early seasons of the Simpsons a very long time ago. I keep thinking I'll go back and try to rewatch from the beginning and then I see that its got something like 50 seasons now and I honestly think I will die before I'd ever be able to catch up.
