The Simpsons Thread (Worst. Thread. Ever!)

[Andrew]

I would've cut Maggie's segment, though if they'd cut the MacBeth segment and expanded the Maggie story it might've been better. I definitely agree that the MacBeth segment had a THOH vibe.

[Andrew]

Not a bad finale, they tackled the issue much better a long time ago in "Much Apu About Nothing" though with better jokes to boot. Still a long way ahead of what Family Guy is doing these days and more than watchable, as I've said before that's acceptable for me this late in the game. Season 20 on the whole was nowhere near a classic but for me it definitely picked up towards the end with some enjoyable episodes. The new intro is still too over the top and gag-filled for my liking and paired with long couch gag it's much, much longer than an intro should be but it is just the intro after all.

[Oznogrd]

caught up on the final 5 episodes of the season today on hulu...the only one that made me laugh throughout was the good the bad and the druggy (or drugly). I will concur though: not as bad as i've seen in recent years...but nowhere close to being as good the worst of the "golden" years. But laughter is good and i laughed at least a couple times during each so...good ending to a not very strong season i'd say

[Andrew]

A couple have come close to the more ordinary episodes in better days, if not the classic era than certainly the next few seasons that followed it and much as I hate to say it, this late in the game I'll take that. So long as it's an enjoyable 20 minutes of television - or enjoyable enough - it's 20 minutes of relaxation well spent in my book.

[Donatello]

I just watched "Gone Maggie Gone". Very strange, but enjoyable.

[benji]

That's a good one, probably the best from this season.

[Andrew]

Season 21 begins September 27th. Echoing my sentiment from the Season 20 thread, I couldn't have imagined that it would run this long, yet I've never really been struck by a feeling of "This will be the last year" or "Next year will be the last year" with any season to date. I thought Season 20 had some good episodes though, I still think the new intro tries to cram in way too many jokes and few of them are all that funny and I wouldn't call the season a return to classic form but on the whole I liked it a little better than Season 19.

Seems the premiere will be the episode that Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg wrote:

Homer the Whopper

Comic Book Guy creates a new superhero called Everyman who takes powers from other superheroes. Homer is cast as the lead in the film adaptation. To get Homer into shape, the movie studio hires a celebrity fitness trainer, Lyle McCarthy to help him. Homer gets into great shape but the film is canceled, and his life falls apart.

Guest star: Seth Rogen

Doesn't sound too bad, but could turn out to be another run-of-the-mill, post-classic "Homer gets a new job" episodes.

Bart Gets A 'Z

Ms. Krabappel confiscates the student’s cell phones, so they decide to teach her a lesson by spiking her coffee. Principal Skinner fires Ms. Krabappel and replaces her with a cool new teacher, Zachary Vaughn.

Sounds like the kind of thing they could've done in a much earlier season (and it probably would've been better), but it seems like it could be a fresh story.

[el badman]

Season 20 had a few good episodes, but overall it certainly doesn't get anywhere close to classic seasons from 5-10 years ago.
I agree that the new intro tries a little too hard, I didn't mind the old ones.
Here's to a better season

[Lamrock]

People still watch The Simpsons?

[Andrew]

Yes, plenty of people. I daresay a lot of people don't hold it in the same esteem as they do the classic episodes though.

[Oznogrd]

i watch out of a hope that things will still be funny. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and like andrew, a few episodes in the past couple of seasons. (The Debarted is one of the funniest "parodies' I've seen in a long time). I'm not expecting a resurgence or anything...but the characters are such a part of my life and growing up, i'll probably always watch even after its cancelled and in syndication on adult swim.

[Andrew]

It's too late in the game for it to truly recapture the classic feel but so long as it remains watchable. I'll probably end up getting all the DVD sets though, just for the sake of completion. I liked "The Debarted" too, definitely one of the better episodes in the last couple of seasons.

[JaoSming]

meh, I wasnt blown away by this first episode, shouldn't really expect to be either

time for the fail that should be Cleveland's show

[el badman]

Like all the most recent episodes, that one had a few very funny moments, but the whole pacing and storyline structure just seemed off. Homer having to get back in shape has already been done many times (hard not to think of the "Simpsons did it!" South Park episode these days), which is why they skipped right ahead to him being slimmer I guess, but it just felt too lazy on the writers' part that he would start pigging out again just because his personal trainer had to leave. I don't know, the premise was alright but it felt half-assed in the end.

[Andrew]

It felt like a bit of a weird combination of Season 7's "Radioactive Man" and "King Size Homer" combined with Season 9's "King of the Hill"...without as many memorable lines or moments. Matt Groening's cameo was kind of funny but apart from that I thought it was kind of ordinary, decent enough idea for a story but there were too many jokes that ran on and just weren't snappy enough. One of those episodes that's more bland than anything else.

[buzzy]

"Radioactive Man" and "King Size Homer" combined with "King of the Hill".

Exactly what I was thinking. Well, not exactly, but I too had the feeling no aspect of the episode was a new idea.

Some okay jokes. I liked the "I smell Oscar", and the guy who glided down the building and then took the bus.

[Al Ka Pwn]

I liked the episode.

[JaoSming]

This week's wasn't bad. Borrowed heavily from past shows (I'll let Andrew tell us which ones) but it was funny and had a few genuine LOL moments.

[el badman]

To me, it was not better or worse than the season premiere, it certainly had some good moments to it, but then again it also had several jokes and dialogs that fell flat or just felt completely awkward. The parody of "The Secret" was pretty funny, but it feels like it could have been better/more used in the context.

[Andrew]

I guess it was kind of like "Bart the Lover" without about half as much heart, but I thought it was alright. I think the four act formula isn't doing much for the show though and though the story did try to have a fair amount of heart, there's still a bit of a sterile emptiness compared to the classic episodes all those years ago. It was nice to see them focus on a supporting character though, especially one that hasn't been featured prominently too many times. Better than the premiere, good for an episode in the last few years but let's not go nuts.

[Oznogrd]

Did Mrs. K's voice change?

[Andrew]

It did sound a little different, but it was Marcia Wallace.

[Al Ka Pwn]

Bit forced, but it still made me feel like I was watching a cartoon.

[Andrew]

Is that good or bad?

[Al Ka Pwn]

For all the years the show has run and me still watching it. It's good.