crimzonflame
Member
Are we all in the agreement that season 6 was the absolute peak?
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Super Eyepatch Wolf: The Fall of the Simpsons - How it happened
- Thread starter WrenchNinja
- Start date
elrechazado
Banned
Homer's enemy destroyed the soul of the show. That's the turning point.
Video wasn't too bad, made some good points.
I've seen every Simpsons episode including the new ones, every now and then there is a good episode, but so many now are just boring. The plot is simple, and lacking jokes.
Also theres too many episodes where the entire thing is a parody of another show. 24, Homeland and Mad Men, none of these shows needs a whole Simpsons episode about it. Especially when the whole joke seems to be the fact Homer's quoting the show. Save it for a Halloween short.
I've seen every Simpsons episode including the new ones, every now and then there is a good episode, but so many now are just boring. The plot is simple, and lacking jokes.
Also theres too many episodes where the entire thing is a parody of another show. 24, Homeland and Mad Men, none of these shows needs a whole Simpsons episode about it. Especially when the whole joke seems to be the fact Homer's quoting the show. Save it for a Halloween short.
UberTag
Member
Season 6 gets my vote as the best. Season 4 is 2nd best.
Of course, my opinion may be nullified in that I rank Season 11 below almost all of the HD-era seasons.
I would counter that most of the people that would object to this haven't watched all of the HD-era seasons.
But the 24 parody was actually good.
Triple Dash
Neo Member
Season 6 has my vote as the peak.
Didn't get into the Simpsons until around Season 12 (~Age 11) so I do have a soft spot for the show up to Season ~17. Only around the post-Movie era did the show take a notable quality dive for me personally.
Didn't get into the Simpsons until around Season 12 (~Age 11) so I do have a soft spot for the show up to Season ~17. Only around the post-Movie era did the show take a notable quality dive for me personally.
Gentleman Jack
Member
Hard to be worse than the season where they literally killed off Maude to spite Maggie Roswell during sweeps.
I kinda like the tomacco episode.
The wit of the writing for peak Simpsons is basically unparalleled in the history of TV imo. It's the reason why there's a Simpsons picture for everything. It's the reason why the lines or gifs still make you laugh all these years later even after watching the episodes over and over.
I'm glad the video brought up the multiple layers to some of the jokes, because that is something I really started to notice as I rewatched the show in my adult life. Maybe as a kid one or two of those layers hit me, but as an adult I'm taking them all in at once and it's fucking hysterical. I often have to pause the show and think about what I just saw because I'm laughing so hard.
It's fucking amazing and those writers are all geniuses.
Yes, definitely, but don't discount the impact of the animation direction during those years as well. David Silverman was as important to the show's brilliance as any of the writers. We remember the scenes, not just the quotes.
elrechazado
Banned
Season 6 is correct, because it has Lemon of Troy, the best episode ever.
admiraltaftbar
Member
This isn't true anymore. Simpsons world has the option to play in 16:9 or 4:3 for awhile now and the episodes are the exact same as what was on the DVD (which was always unaltered episodes). On top of that I think online includes commentary and deleted scenes similar to what was available on the DVDs. If you have the option to watch episodes on Simpsons world and don't want to buy the DVDs then there's no reason not to watch it online.
UberTag
Member
I won't begrudge you much for that opinion. Season 15 wound up pretty damn good.
I also have a soft spot for Seasons 12-16... not because they measure up to the Classic era (because they don't - not even close)... but because those are the seasons where the Lauren MacMullan episodes can be found.
People may revere Brad Bird but he never showcased his directorial craft on The Simpsons the way Lauren did. He directed like 1 1/2 episodes... whereas Lauren is one of the all-time best directors The Simpsons ever had.
Brad's still an incomparable talent. The Incredibles is excellent. He just didn't get to showcase his potential with the show.
David Silverman is also in my Top 3 directors. Hell, the show owes more to David than just about anyone. He directed the Ullman shorts. He directed the first episode. He directed the first episode to air. He directed the movie. And he'll direct (AND WRITE) the Season 29 episode that will topple the Gunsmoke record. He's a pro.
poppedcollar69
Member
screw this guys voice tho
To be fair to the showrunners for that season they were operating under the impression that it was likely The Simpsons' final season. For that reason they thought it would be fun to test the boundaries of the show: No consequences. (Oops.)
His cadence is a bit dramatic for the type of videos he makes but his videos are always real good so I've gotten used to it.
BoogieWoogie
Banned
I like that he referenced the street sweeper bit as that's one of my all time favorite Simpsons jokes.
GKSilKamina
Member
It kills me because I really like his videos (and this one's very good), but strongly dislike his voice and line delivery. :[
Gentleman Jack
Member
Yes.
He also doesn't fully contextualize Fox's influence on weeknight evening television, and although a lot of their early shit did not stick, they were the counter programming network for everything else on the air at the time. I believe MwC (along with Roseanne's influence) does get covered in the zombie simpsons megablog sourced in the video though.
So if you find the video a bit of an abridged slog, I highly recommend reading the link above.
How old is he? He doesn't sound old enough to have been aware of that show back then.
Even then a look at wikipedia can tell you when the show started and how popular it was
Trojita
Rapid Response Threadmaker
Thanks!
I thought it might have been more of a regional issue. There was no reason to miss it when he was specifically going through the history of entertainment in the 80's leading up to the arrival of The Simpson's.
talkingood
Member
His voice is terrible. It's outlandishly dramatic for something that is just not that serious.
It sort of helps watching at 1.25 or even 1.5 speed, though.
VendettaRed07
Member
Yo Super Eyepatch Wolf's voice is smooth as fuck you guys are crazy
But anyway this is probably one of the better videos on the systems and one of his personal best that I've seen. Hope he keeps it up because he's been killing it lately
But anyway this is probably one of the better videos on the systems and one of his personal best that I've seen. Hope he keeps it up because he's been killing it lately
TropicalFish
Member
SEW's voice is the only reason I watch these videos lmao.
Stead Fast
Banned
More or less yeah, I own 1-9 and despite a few clear funny outliers, the drop off was already taking place by 9.
Tinfoilhatsron
Banned
Thank god for this. Such a pleseant listening experience.
No kidding. Do people actually like the hyper farcical YouTube presenter style? I'm obviously getting too old.
Yeah, his voice is fine.
IIRC later Simpsons seasons don't have much to offer in the way of storyboards, either (especially on newer episodes). The camera stays on flat perspective for the most part, whereas on earlier seasons, a lot of shots had well-thought and varied camera angles/movement. Same can be said about PPG, from the first to late seasons of the '00s.
IIRC later Simpsons seasons don't have much to offer in the way of storyboards, either (especially on newer episodes). The camera stays on flat perspective for the most part, whereas on earlier seasons, a lot of shots had well-thought and varied camera angles/movement. Same can be said about PPG, from the first to late seasons of the '00s.
Disagree completely about Big Bang Theory. I think it's a real boring show with the laugh track, but with the laugh track removed it becomes a harrowing existential nightmare and that's at least interesting if nothing else.
HazySaiyan
Banned
Season 5 is probably my favourite season, although season 6 is fantastic as well. Season 6 also has my favourite ever episode, Homer Badman
Red Liquorice
Member
I totally forgot about the Skinner storyline until reading this thread. Wasn't it basically the same thing as Don Draper?
Spaced Harrier
Member
All sitcoms with a live audience do. The actors have to wait for the audience to be quieter, in order to deliver their next line.
It's a super lazy and incorrect criticism.
It's as true a fact for The Big Bang Theory (which may or not be good/something you like) as it is for Father Ted (widely seen as one of the greatest of all time).
UberTag
Member
The Classic era ended when Mike Scully took over as showrunner in Season 9. The consistent quality of the show fell away at that point although there are a number of holdover episodes from earlier show runner teams smattered throughout that season to obfuscate things and Scully himself had a couple solid episodes - namely The Cartridge Family and Das Bus - to further muddy the drop-off.
But yeah, it ends with him taking over and the standard of quality fell completely apart by the time Season 11 rolls around and they just say "fuck it" and embrace wackiness. I'll quote myself here...
Mechanized
Member
Season 11 is goddamn amazing. The show had definitely lost its way, but those episodes are so chock full of great one liners, comedic timing and slapstick that I love it just as much as earlier stuff.
tonysidaway
Member
A show that lasts for so long is bound to display signs of fatigue, and over decades many ideas get retreads just for the sake of squeezing one more episode out of a still-successful franchise. The zeitgeist moves on and a show that could have been put out to grass long ago clings on to a bare semblance of life.
But a YouTube commentator who insists on making bloated videos lasting the length of a feature film just to do what many others have done in far more concise form, that's really taking the piss.
But a YouTube commentator who insists on making bloated videos lasting the length of a feature film just to do what many others have done in far more concise form, that's really taking the piss.
I can't watch the video as I'm at work, but my thoughts and the reason it went downhill is rather than being about springfield, they started doing more and more of the celebrity cameo and parody episodes. This is somewhat an obvious step to take when they run out of ideas, but that I believe is the problem. It tried to become Family Guy which sucks for the same reasons.
Souldriver
Member
A video like this has very little value to me.
What hasn't been said about the brilliance and eventual downfall of the Simpsons? All we can say that it went from one of the best television shows every, to a mediocre one, and that it is because of a whole bunch of factors. Name anything related to making a show, and it took a downturn in the later seasons: the humor, the character development, the stories, the animation, ... everything.
It's when people try to pinpoint one specific episode or moment as "the turning point", that I groan. "That was when homer became super stupid". Nope, homer has always been super stupid. "That was when homer became jerk homer." Nope, homer has always been a huge jerk. "That was when the Simpsons went from a grounded show into fantasy." Nope, the series has often dwelled in nonsensical or strange stories. "That is when they started doing celeb cameos for the sake of it." Nope, Simpsons has always had cameo's, often with the celebs portraying themselves.
All I can say is that for me season 9 is where it all starts to fall apart. Where there is a definite change, with episodes I...don't like. As I said: the stories, the characters, the humor, .... it all takes a hit in quality. And from that point on into the following seasons it just gets worse and worse.
What hasn't been said about the brilliance and eventual downfall of the Simpsons? All we can say that it went from one of the best television shows every, to a mediocre one, and that it is because of a whole bunch of factors. Name anything related to making a show, and it took a downturn in the later seasons: the humor, the character development, the stories, the animation, ... everything.
It's when people try to pinpoint one specific episode or moment as "the turning point", that I groan. "That was when homer became super stupid". Nope, homer has always been super stupid. "That was when homer became jerk homer." Nope, homer has always been a huge jerk. "That was when the Simpsons went from a grounded show into fantasy." Nope, the series has often dwelled in nonsensical or strange stories. "That is when they started doing celeb cameos for the sake of it." Nope, Simpsons has always had cameo's, often with the celebs portraying themselves.
All I can say is that for me season 9 is where it all starts to fall apart. Where there is a definite change, with episodes I...don't like. As I said: the stories, the characters, the humor, .... it all takes a hit in quality. And from that point on into the following seasons it just gets worse and worse.
that's a valid argument if they did everything in one take. But everything requires multiple takes, the audience sometimes get subjected to hours of the same scene. They actually do need to be reminded to laugh enthusiastically whenever a jokes comes up. Not to mention whatever they add in the sound mixing. It's artificial, it's fake, it's terribly outdated. And yeah I've read that long article about the guy who works as a live audience entertainer that was linked in a thread here a while ago
the movies in-between the original run and the new seasons killed it. The first movie is actually good, however. And I do recall two memorable episodes from after the show came back
Seasons 1 - 2: The show was trying to figure out what the hell it was doing, but it was rough, unfunny, and honestly kind of trash during this time.
Seasons 3 - 8 - Some of the best comedy T.V. in history
Seasons 9 - 15 - Nowhere near as good as the prior period, with bizarre, nonsensical plots, but still have great jokes, gags and one-liners.
Seasons 16 - 19 - Started to get shitty all around. Hardly even any good one-off jokes throughout an entire episode.
Seasons 20 - present - This is when the show started getting animated in HD to mimic the look of the movie, and has never had any redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Seasons 3 - 8 - Some of the best comedy T.V. in history
Seasons 9 - 15 - Nowhere near as good as the prior period, with bizarre, nonsensical plots, but still have great jokes, gags and one-liners.
Seasons 16 - 19 - Started to get shitty all around. Hardly even any good one-off jokes throughout an entire episode.
Seasons 20 - present - This is when the show started getting animated in HD to mimic the look of the movie, and has never had any redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Season 19 is top 5, maybe top 3.
The intro covered that without really saying it.
It still has its moments, despite its focus, like when the girls discuss Thor's hammer and the transitive property of picking up things, comparing something picking up Thor holding the hammer to trying to pick up someone already trying to pick up somebody else, or lines like "
just because I love you doesn't mean girls are allowed in my room
As for SEW, I like his videos, but he's better off articulating the appeal of something that intimidatingly huge yet popular without fully spoiling it, than retreading something that's already been written about for what are now decades to point out its problems.
tonysidaway
Member
Reminds me of how MASH looked when shown on the BBC. One week by mistake they showed it with a laughter track, and I realised all those deep pauses weren't intended to underline the characters' despair at the essential depravity of war. They were just gaps for the laugh to be inserted later.
I actually liked 18 quite a bit. It seemed to have a unique humor compared to all the other post season 9 stuff. I didn't watch 19 but I wonder if it had some of the same writers involved.
I really enjoyed this video, he does a great breakdown of what happened and what made peak Simpsons so good.
It might be time for another watch-thru.
(Seasons 1-8)
Imbarkus
As Sartre noted in his contemplation on Hell in No Exit, the true horror is other members.
You know, even after agreeing with everything in this video, I was super-excited yesterday when I discovered the news that the DVD releases are coming back.
Starting with Season 18!