Matt Groening on Futurama, Simpsons and Fox 438
dipfan writes "Simpsons and Futurama creator Matt Groening, in an interview with the FT, says that the Fox network didn't understand or support Futurama. Groening says: "They haven't really supported it. I think it's a worthy companion to The Simpsons and we're really proud of it. But Fox gave it a bad slot and zero promotion for the last three years." He also accuses the channel of meddling with the show, making complaints that the characters were "too mean". He's hoping to change Fox's mind, and endorses the online petition to try and save the show. The good news is that he's got other ideas for new shows if Futurama really does get canned, and talks about new Simpsons plots involving Enron, and Krusty The Clown running for Congress." His feelings shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who saw the first act of "Homer the Moe", but what I thought was interesting was his comments on Fox and how he's not interested in moving networks over the futurama thing.
Too mean?! (Score:4, Interesting)
Fuck, that's the reason I gave up on the Simpsons years ago, and love Futurama!
Hey, FOX, why don't you bite my shiny metal ass? I'm an adult. Now that Bugs Bunny's been censored to hell, I'm left craving cartoons I can enjoy as an adult. If there's a demographic that leaves room in the lineup for Greg The Bunny (who's funny, but is hardly broadly-based social satire), there's gotta be room for Bender and the baby in "Family Guy".
network genius @ Fox (Score:2, Interesting)
There has got to be something that I missed, I do not understand how they could cancel shows like Futurama and Family Guy.
What are your thoughts?
Control of TV series (Score:5, Interesting)
Groening said in a Playboy interview: "The current atmosphere in television is one of anxiety and fear. And Fox has been worried that Futurama isn't like the Simpsons. And I've said, 'No, it's exactly like the Simpsons: It's new and original.' But that hasn't calmed them down. Also, Fox expected to have our show under its thumb and was quite surprised when I adamantly insisted that we put this show together exactly as we do The Simpsons, with complete autonomy. So that's why you haven't heard anything positive about Futurama from Fox during the past year."
So, where TNT failed to compromise and save Crusade, the FOX network acquiesed to the creator and now has had a successful show in Futurama.
Um.... What? (Score:2, Interesting)
Compared to what?
The animation on Futurama is on-par, if not slightly better than the Simpsons (which is one of the best animated cartoons out there). If you don't like it, I'm guessing it is for purely asthetic reasons. Personally, I don't like how panning and rotation look, since computers give them a smoothness that just seems jarringly out of place to me - but then again, that's just me. The choice of colors is different as well. Where The Simpsons has a more cartoony look - the colors are brighter and have more contrast, Futurama tends to stray away from bright and primary colors, going for a paler and more blended palette.
The characters, plots, flow, and jokes in Futurama are very different than in The Simpsons. This has everything to do with the universe it is set in being based solely in Science Fiction rather than the mostly realistic universe that The Simpsons has built up over the years. Although most of the "rules" of both the shows are similar, you can easily get away with things in one that you couldn't in the other. Different sets of rules need different characters. Bender wouldn't fit in with The Simpsons just as much as Lisa wouldn't fit in with Futurama.
That being said, I prefer The Simpsons in its prime (although the Homer/Hulk episode this week was pretty good) to Futurama at its best. Why? Futurama's structure is so open that nearly anything can be done plot-wise. The Simpsons was based somewhat in reality, which gave the writing team a bit of focus. When absolutely anything can happen, it isn't as special when it does.
Speculation (Score:3, Interesting)
This is just a guess, but I'll put a tenner down that the reason why Futurama never really got the support that it should have, and why it's being dropped now, is becuase maybe a week after the pilot, the heads of that department in FOX got restructured and the pastic wrap came off a whole new lineup of fresh-faced marketing and programming execs. They couldn't drop the Simpsons (it just has TOO MUCH momentum), so they decided to carve up everything else they could touch and fill the void with the neeto ideas they had during thier training in the frat house.
Re:Hopefully... (Score:2, Interesting)
Once they lost Connan, they started steadily going downhill.
I agree with you except I would replace "steadily" with "rapidly". It was painful enough to watch one of my favorite shows go from brilliant to awful but I finally decided to switch the TV off on the episode where I&S Corp decides to change The Itchy & Scratchy Show (was that the Poochy the Dog episode?). Near the end, Lisa tells the animators that there isn't anything "wrong" with Itchy & Scratchy, the reason their ratings are down is because people have gotten used to such great programming or some such nonesense. She goes on to say that the fans should be thankful that Itchy & Scratchy has been great for so many years. That speech was obviously directed towards fans of the Simpsons who were posting negative comments about the shows on the Internet. Rather than listening to the feedback from their most loyal fans, the people running The Simpsons decided to have Lisa berate the viewers! I thought that was too offensive and decided that there was no longer any hope that The Simpsons would realize they were making a mistake with their new direction.
So I gave up hope that the Simpsons would return to greatness a long time ago...
GMD
No Futurama? Watch SeaLab ! (Score:2, Interesting)
It's Sci-Fi (Robots, Time Travel, Black Debbie), it's got great characters (Stormy, Hesh, Chubby Cox), and some of the best comedy writing and voice talent (Erik Estrada!) on tv EVER.
Whatever became of frcr.com? (Score:5, Interesting)
Case in point? The Simpsons Archive (snpp.com) perhaps the single greatest authoritative Simpsons information source. Mostly culled I'm sure from countless USENET postings but the information contained there is priceless to the average Simpsons fan. Someone at work will utter a butchered version of some famous quote and in seconds we will have the exact wording, the episode it came from and (with a little step 2 magic) soon be watching the hilarious moment.
But is there such a resource for Futurama? Well there was...The Futurama Cronicles (frcr.com). Had much of the same kind of information, with upcoming episode dirt and all sorts of little factoids. I can't read the alien language, but those guys had it pretty much deciphered. I always wonder what the little clips during the intro came from and they always seemed to know.
But what was it, two years ago? the site got the Cease & Desist kiss of death. How can a site like snpp.com flourish and frcr.com disappear when both are basically cataloging and organizing USENET content? And what happened to the other Futurama sites like FuturamaOutlet and so on?
Honestly, it's like FOX is trying to deny Futurama even exists. The FOX website for the show is a flash-laden piece of crap that hasn't been updated since the show premiered (same with the Family Guy show site).
Bleah. Matt Groening must has some change in his pocket. He knows about the massive following his shows have on the Internet (he has been asked about ANiVCD and the whole VCD scene at every convention he's ever attended). In this post dot-com world, I think his projects would be the only ones that have a chance at working over the Internet. Produce the show straight to video and offer streaming downloads over the Internet. Hell, I see channel after channel on IRC doing exactly that.
So he's not interested in leaving FOX. Fine. But for god's sake...don't cast pearls before swine. How many musicians say that given the choice between languishing in a corporate vault and being enjoyed and shared by fans they would much rather give their work to the fans? Why can't Matt be the same way?
- JoeShmoe
.
Re:Simpsons Post 911? (Score:2, Interesting)
FYI: Generally (and this is true for a lot of shows), that while the actually production process starts 9 months before showing, that doesn't mean that everything is finished 9 months before. Things can be spliced in almost up to the point of showing. The Bin Laden bit was probably an add-in, but either way, I sure as hell don't agree with it. It cheapens a truely "evil" person, and makes it feel like people died in vain.
Re:network genius @ Fox (Score:3, Interesting)
Yeah, like that flies. Remember Action? Even funnier and more biting than GtB, and how long did it last, eh?
I lost my respect for FOX when they cancelled that show without even trying to find the right time slot for it. C'mon... Thursday night? It took ABC and CBS nearly a decade to break NBC's domination of that schedule.
Re:Hopefully... (Score:2, Interesting)
I seen this statement several times here and other places. I still like the Simpsons and didn't have any idea where the GoodEpisodes/BadEpisodes line was drawn. So I did a little investigating and it seems Conan wrote 4 episodes.
Conan Episodes [snpp.com]
So these 4 are the only good ones?
Re:Lifespan of a comedy style? (Score:2, Interesting)
But that's just the point I was making (or trying to make) - the Simpsons won't run out of material anytime in the forseeable future, but the format it is presented in may well get old. How much interesting variation on the theme can Groening continue to come up with? And notice I say "continue" - I think he's done an amazing job thus far.
> ...move ourselves out of the wasteland of ignorance and stupidity.
So, you're saying, once we start resembling Futurama more than the Simpsons? *g*
On a side note, try The Simpsons Archive [snpp.com] for way more than you wanted to know about the Simpsons...
The Simpsons dating itself into oblivion (Score:5, Interesting)
Groening's talk of making an Enron episode reminds me of how low the Simpsons have sunk. Who, five years from now, is going to remember Enron? Hell, who cares _now_ about Enron? But the Simpsons went down that primrose way a long time ago, ever since they started cracking jokes about the Internet, and making episodes featuring George Bush and Bill Clinton (I'm reminded that the Simpsons' funniest political episode, the one where Lisa goes to Washington, makes hardly any specific reference to the politics of the day), and running cameos from every two-bit celebrity or band who had their fifteen minutes, from Mark McGwire to N-Sync.
hyacinthus.
Re:Problems with Fox... (Score:4, Interesting)
I thought that the "worst" was the fact that most of the actors on that show had to learned that it was cancelled through thier friends or on the news. The press release went out before they even told the actors on the show!
24, Andy Richter & Undeclared... (Score:3, Interesting)
also...
Andy Richter Controls the Universe [paramount.com] and Undeclared [undeclaredonline.com] are, in my opinion, two of the funniest new shows this season...yet, Undeclared has been conspicously absent from the spring schedule, and there are rumours that Andy Richter will not be picked up for next season...these two shows are great...and if you haven't checked out Andy Richter consider watching..it's on Tuesday's at 8:30 (although not this tuesday) as a lead in to "24"...it's damn funny...and the office humour in it is great...
i do think Fox's lineup does have some potential over all....these 3 shows i mentioned....plus Simpsons, Malcom in the Middle, King of the Hill and That 70's show give them a nice core group of programming...albeit one that doesn't really appeal to older viewers....but it should appeal to the all important 18-25 year old male demographic...
just my opinion...
Re:The Simpsons dating itself into oblivion (Score:3, Interesting)
Oh, sure - there will always be re-runs, but there's enough generic humor in it to keep people watching them far into the future. I don't see any reason why they should pass over chances to poke fun at current events, simply because they're worried people won't "get it" 10 years from now.
Cameo appearances have always dated shows, but I don't think it really harms the production. Even today, the "outdated" celebrities appearing on Scooby Doo adds to the charm to those of us old enough to remember those people. The kids might not know who Don Knotts is, but they still like the episode anyway.
Re:Too mean?! (Score:3, Interesting)
C'mon. Futurama unlike a lot of Fox's comedy shows is lot more than just ass-jokes. I have found it in the last few seasons to be pretty consistently (but not always) better than the Simpsons. The format of the show allows for a lot more flexibility to spoof current culture and take advantage of the animated medium.
You can ask my wife what I think of Fox after they consistently pre-empt Futurama for football for 6 months straight. Fox treated that show like crap. I just hope we don't have to wait 12 years or more for a region 1 DVD release of the episodes.
Re:Plenty in Ouvre; Indifferent about plug pulling (Score:3, Interesting)
No no no! The phrase "jump the shark" is used to describe a specific episode in which the series in question peaked, leaving the show nowhere to go but down unless they "jump back."
Don't just trust me on it: check out the Jump the Shark FAQ [jumptheshark.com].
Re:When they do cancel Simpsons (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Matt Groening on Futurama, Simpsons and Fox (Score:2, Interesting)
It kinda makes me think of how Bob & Tom deal with complaints--if they get a complaint about one song they played, they play it again.