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Television Media It's funny. Laugh.

Behind the Scenes of The Simpsons 118

Posted by Zonk from the can-slashdotters-get-some-seats dept.
Tim writes "The Seattle Times is running a short article about the production process behind 'The Simpsons.' Nothing too elaborate, but there are some interesting pieces of information scattered throughout the piece, including a few jokes from a future episode." From the article: "Invitations to the table read are considered among the hottest tickets in Hollywood, and each visitor has an assigned seat. Celebrities, usually with children in tow, are a fixture. It takes about 40 minutes to run through an episode that will run 22 minutes and 30 seconds (plus commercials) when it airs next season. After the session, there is applause and stretching. Groening and most cast members linger to chat, autograph the scripts and pose for snapshots."
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Behind the Scenes of The Simpsons More

Behind the Scenes of The Simpsons

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  • Simpsons better than Futurama? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Paperghost ( 942699 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @06:39AM (#14416144)
    ...but that's unpossible.

  • Pretty good article (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jbrader ( 697703 ) <stillnotpynchon@gmail.com> on Saturday January 07, 2006 @06:43AM (#14416155)
    But it would have been better a few years ago when the Simpsons was still relevant and funny.
    • A few years ago, when the Simpsons was still relevant and funny, they didn't need to do stupid articles like this to keep reminding people that the Simpsons were still on TV.

      Then again, Fox keeps crap on TV (Simpsons of late) and takes off great shows like Family Guy (past) and Arrested Development.

      • Re:Pretty good article (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Equisilus ( 824230 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @08:11AM (#14416316)
        Then again, Fox keeps crap on TV (Simpsons of late) and takes off great shows like Family Guy (past) and Arrested Development. Well, the Simpsons have a fanbase that was likely many times larger than Family Guy generated in its first seasons. Even a less-funny, less-relevant Simpsons would outdo a new show that hadn't yet built up its own set of fans. On a numbers basis, I don't think Fox did anything particularly wrong, although it may have been shortsighted. I've been watching both shows since their inception and I truly find Family Guy far more entertaining, but that's not going to stop me from watching Simpsons.
        • Has anyone done any research on the plot overlaps between the two shows?

          - Marge & Lois both shoplifted
          - Marge and lois both had a gambling problem
          - Both shows incorporated a joke about ancient jews building the pyramids and getting their opression out of the way early on in history

          And lots more stuff that I saw in family guy and thought "This plot seems familiar".
          • And next week bart builds a machine that will remove the cherry from chocolate covered cherries and replace it with week old mayonnaise!

            Simpsons did it! Simpsons did it!

            Wait, wrong show... is this offtopic then?

          • Has anyone done any research on the plot overlaps between the two shows?

            Here's two for your list that I think Family Guy did before The Simpsons:

            • Peter/Homer performs the Grim Reaper's duties
            • Lois/Marge become good fighter/get pumped up and become sexually aggressive with Peter/Homer

              Peter: (quivering voice) She was the man, Brian. She was the man.
              Homer: Ow, ow, ow...

            Some quick Wikipedia research [wikipedia.org] shows that The Simpsons has aired at least 366 episodes. They have done nearly every plot you can imagin

      • everyone's always insulting the Simpsons these days, but I honestly don't see why they're so bad. Yeah I think they may be not quite as good as some older ones all the time, but they can still be pretty funny. it kinda reminds me of how when something becomes too mainstream people shun it just for the sake of shunning it, even if it's not that bad. Of course it is all opinion, so whatever :P
        • everyone's always insulting the Simpsons these days, but I honestly don't see why they're so bad.

          Look, I'll be straight with you. Nowaday's, the Simpsons sucks. It's that simple. Personally, I feel the final shark was jumped when they killed off Ned Flander's wife. Since then it's been straight to the gutter, with Fox urging them on episode after episode.

          I'm sure there is a reason for this seeming incompetance at Fox. Most likely, poor TV shows simply do better than good ones. The reasons for this, largely
          • i agree fox makes a lot of bad decisions, and like I said, its a matter of opinion, I just still dont mind watching simpsons, personally. and also Fox is a conservative station so maybe thier demographic doesnt match with the people who actually watch thier shows? like, even though people regardless of politics like some of thier shows, maybe they feel they dont apply enough to the "conservative population" which is another way of saying the people are making really stupid decisions. at least I think thats
        • You can't use the "trendiness" argument here.. The simpsons in its current state is a mere shadow of its former glory. The characters, who used to be if not realistic then believable, are now all clearly 1-trick ponies who are too 1-dimensional for people to really connect to in the same way as they did in episodes such as for example the one where lisa falls in love with the dustin hoffman character.

          The humor, which used to be moslty clever and subtle, now is very basic and over-the-top.

          And also, altho

    • Heritic (Score:5, Funny)

      by olddotter ( 638430 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @12:47PM (#14417296) Homepage
      The Simpsons are the most relevant thing on TV. I have to control the desire to firebomb Fox when they replace the Simpsons with some useless sporting event or even worse some starwars movie. The only things that should disrupt a Simpsons episode is a currently occuring natural disaster in the immediate viewing area, or perhaps the actuall declaration of war by congress. Anything less than that is not an excuse for interupting the normal Sunday night ritual of watching the Simpsons.

      Things that are not more important than the Simpsons:
      1. Presidential address.
      2. Military action this is not accompanied by a declaration of war. (The Gulfwar, Gulfwar II, Vietnam, etc. fall into this category. US entry into WW II would not.)
      3. Terrorist Attacks (I can wait 30 minutes to hear about that!)
      4. The SuperBowl.
      5. The olympics...
      6. Birdflu outbreak.
      7. Alien Invation

      These things can wait until the Simpsons are over....

    • I'm saying nothing new or particularly insightful here.... but for those who aren't already devoted Simpsons fans...

      The simpsons used to be the most brilliant show on TV. Not just best cartoon, best show period. Many would be of the opinion that the last GREAT season of the simpsons was either seasons 6 or 7, and season 8 was still pretty good. But then from seasons 9-11 things went wrong.... horribly wrong. Homer turned into a complete idiot, the plots had no ties to reality, entire characters were re-defi
    • What are you talking about.

      It's a perfectly cromulent article that embiggens us all.

  • Television! (Score:5, Funny)

    by itior ( 943153 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @06:47AM (#14416164)
    Television! Teacher, mother, secret lover.

  • In a TRAILER? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by LividBlivet ( 898817 )
    I mean how many billions in advertising has the Simpsons made over the years?
    Well whatever works I guess.

    I always wondered if the animation was crafted to match the voices or vice versa, at least the article cleared that up.

    • Re:In a TRAILER? (Score:3, Informative)

      by RubberDogBone ( 851604 ) *
      It varies. Some shoot the animation first and dub to it, others record the voices first and tailor the animation to match.

    • Well, this is generalization, but most often, Japanese animation is drawn, and then has voicework completed later (yes, I'm talking about the original Japanese voicework), versus American animation that has the English voicework completed first, to which the animation is then drawn.
    • Actually, animation with talking people is always done by recording the voices first. It helps tremendously with the timing if you have a great voice recording to begin with. There is some ADR done, but it always starts with recording the voices first. Exceptions might be Tom&Jerry, where there is very few dialogue (apart from Tom's yelling when he gets split in half etc.). But all Disney features, Pixar features, Sony features, Shorts by Disney, Hanna-Barbara and many more are done by recording the voi

  • 'A little out there' (Score:5, Interesting)

    by RonnyJ ( 651856 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @07:05AM (#14416199)
    The most interesting part of the article for me, especially considering that many people consider Simpsons has hugely declined in quality (including me):

    Outside the trailer, Groening chats with Azaria about the episode they have just read. Groening wonders whether some aspects of the plot are "a little out there." Well, Azaria replies sarcastically, it is Season 4,063.

    • Re:'A little out there' (Score:5, Insightful)

      by strider44 ( 650833 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @07:24AM (#14416242)
      I think that the decline in quality isn't because they have stopped being funny, because that's just untrue. The Simpsons is still very funny. It's just that they seem to have lost the ability to take themselves, and the characters, seriously - they just make gags and bring out their multitude of celebrities, but they don't deal with the serious issues that the Simpsons in their prime did. Though I think Hank Azaria is great, that comment just highlights this.

      • Issues? Season analysis Enclosed. (Score:5, Informative)

        by PhYrE2k2 ( 806396 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @11:26AM (#14416981)
        they don't deal with the serious issues that the Simpsons in their prime did. Though I think Hank Azaria is great, that comment just highlights this.


        Whoa! The first three seasons were all about serious issues. Bart steals a video game, Bart becomes gifted, Bart defends his sister, Homer gets caught on spy camera with a dancer, bad babysitter happends to be wanted, Bart isn't doing well in school and needs Martin's help.

        These episodes, while indeed showing off where the Simpsons came from, and indeed were fun to watch, lacked a certain hilarity that the Simpsons acheived later in the game where they just got funny. They were trying to teach lessons and whatnot at the beginning and make everyone feel good in the end.

        Bring along seasons 4-6 or so, where the shows are still about Bart (as the show was) with the occasional Homer and/or Lisa episode. As this range went on, and even going into seasons 7 and 8, they became more about Homer. These were some of the funniest in its prime. Who shot Mr Burns, Lisa the Vegitarian, Homer goes to College, Cat Burgler, Homer as a marriage therapist, etc. They were really exploring what Homer could add to the show rather than just being around.

        Bring in seasons 7,8-11 and they're hit and miss. Many fun and exciting episodes, but you can tell that they're reaching maximums of some of the possibilities. They've realized their fans want 'out there' actions and find Homer's stupidity funny. SOmetimes they'll hit it right on and other times they'll go so far to the extreme that it's boring as anything.

        Seasons 12,13 are very hit and miss. An episode here and there that's funny (Trillogy of Error anyone? Where they split Bart, Homer, and Lisa's day was hilarious). In these seasons they've realized people aren't tuning in as much. They promoted such bands as REM (season13), The Who (season12), NSync (season12) and guest stars like Pierce Brosman, Judge Judy, Reese Witherspoon. Group in 'Britney Spears' from season 11 (which was awful) and you add to that. They've realized people aren't finding it funny, so they need some media hype to get people watching. of course, their inclusion sucks.

        We all remember probably one of the simpsons' 'worst episodes ever' where they went to Toronto in February 2002 for season 13 chasing Wolfcastle's daughter (Reese Witherspoon). They actually wanted the mayor of Toronto to declare 'simpsons day' and got angry at the policy to not declare special days for corporate events. We all remember the 60-90 seconds actually spent in Toronto, of which they played really poor jokes that both Canadian's and Americans alike didn't find funny. I should have gone out that night.

        Bring in Season 14+ where I've seen one or two watchable episodes, and the remainder I will sit and stare forward blankly when I do catch it.

        I no longer rush home to watch it. I no longer plan my weekend around looking forward to it. I no longer Tivo every episode. I just don't care. I watch older ones on Comedy from time to time, but the new ones I rarely even catch. They've essentially lost touch with their viewer base or are well past the prime of the show. The episodes become extreme and unbelievable and are purposely going for a laugh, rather than 'seemingly' accidentally stumbling on it.

        -M
        • The episodes become extreme and unbelievable and are purposely going for a laugh, rather than 'seemingly' accidentally stumbling on it.

          I think you've just described, in one single sentence, what actually sets "good commedy" apart from standard ordinary comedy.

          I wish more stuff was like you described. I need more futurama.
        • Well I think you're off on some of the particulars (the move from Bart-centric to Homer-centric happened much earlier than you suggest, about season 4). The show peaked somewhere in season 5-6, was still quite good through season 8 or 9, and then just goes through a downward spiral. Other than that I think your analysis is spot on.

          The Simpsons used to be wonderful and clever satire/social commentary, unequalled on TV. It was sometimes subtle but it was always there; a lot of the jokes and gags were directly

          • They're not even original, let alone clever and satirical. I don't know if it's just writer fatigue, something behind the scenes that changed, or what - but The Simpsons today just isn't The Simpsons of yesteryear.

            The problem is actually fairly simple and you got that one right there. There was a writers change mid-way. In the beginning *hehe* the writers were _mostly_ Irish and Jewish. It included such names as Conan O'Brien (one of the more famous- his most notable episode is of course the Monorail epi

    • This reminds of the two Shrek movies. The first one was highly original and funny. The second one relies more on paradies of obsolete TV shows and movies and wasnt as funny. I could predict its ending. However the computer graphics improved greatly and made me, a grphics person, drool.

  • *crickets chirp* (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Phariom ( 941580 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @07:07AM (#14416202)
    "From the inside, a genius factory can appear surprisingly bland..."

    Bland. Much like the quality of the episodes that are currently being produced. There was a time when this show was indeed amusing, clever, and poignant. It wouldn't be so bad today if their humor wasn't so dated. In fact, I would go as far as to say that The Simpsons has become another Garfield. Yes...I went there. Horribly predictable "comedy." Overused formulas. The usual.

    When someone builds up a media empire, they have a responsibility to know when to call it quits. Every single television program, comic, book, musical group, et cetera has a "half-life" depending on its particular "valence." Once that half-life has been reached...well...you guys are reading this on Slashdot ergo I assume you are smart enough to get the science-to-entertainment metaphor I'm weaving here.

    • Re:*crickets chirp* (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Ed Avis ( 5917 )
      There was a time when this show was indeed amusing, clever, and poignant.

      You're complaining about this on Slashdot of all places?
    • Right, they have a responsibility to call it quits.

      For all the complaints, The Simpsons still has a loyal following tuning in every week. When the numbers decline significantly the show will change, or die. Until then, well, why change what works just because you're bored with it?

      If only there were some form of controlling apparatus for your TV that would allow you to change the channel and watch something you find more entertaining... Perhaps it could even be done remotely. Yes, a TV remote controlling app

    • You'll never stop the Simpsons (Score:5, Funny)

      by i_should_be_working ( 720372 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @07:34AM (#14416259)
      Ullman shorts, Christmas show,
      Marge's fling, Homer's bro,
      Bart in well, Flanders fails,
      Whacking snakes, Monorail,
      Mr. Plow, Homer in space,
      Sideshow Bob steps on rakes,
      Lisa's future, Selma's hubby,
      Marge not proud, Homer chubby,
      Homer worries Bart is gay,
      Poochie, U2, NRA,
      Hippies, Vegas, and Japan,
      Octuplets, and Bart's boy band,
      Marge murmurs, Maude croaks,
      Lisa Buddhas, Homer tokes,
      Maggie blows Burns away,
      What else do I have to say?!

      You'll never stop the Simpsons,
      Have no fears, we've got stories for years like...

      Marge becomes a robot,
      Maybe Moe gets a cell phone,
      Has Bart ever owned a bear or...

      How about a crazy wedding?
      Where something happens, and do-do do-do-do
      Sorry for the clip show!
      Have no fears, we've got stories for years!
    • Every single television program, comic, book, musical group, et cetera has a "half-life" depending on its particular "valence." Once that half-life has been reached...well...you guys are reading this on Slashdot ergo I assume you are smart enough to get the science-to-entertainment metaphor I'm weaving here.

      Unless you can completely reinvent yourself every few years, like Doctor Who.

    • Still better than a lot of other stuff on TV. It's really hard to say whether they should quit or not, sometimes there are single lines in the episodes still that make me laugh more than anything else on TV. For example, in my personal least favorite episode, the cowboy one(which unfortunately starred the late, great Johnny Cash in one of his last roles ever), one of my favorite lines is uttered which for me summed up my childhood very well:
      Bart walks into class after being attacked by a dog, he is bruis
    • Stay tuned for final episode, "Simpsons Jump the Shark". Bart learns C# and goes to work for an insurance company, and likes it; Lisa becomes a meth head and ends her days toothless, reading Spinoza in a cardboard crate; Homer develops a donut food-allergy and takes a job selling propane somewhere in Texas; Maggie becomes a Scientologist and is adopted by Tom Cruise. Yeah, bet you didn't see that one coming.
      • "Stay tuned for final episode, "Simpsons Jump the Shark". Bart learns C# and goes to work for an insurance company, and likes it;"

        Heh. I think the 365th episode of the Simpons should be Lisa's 11th birthday. (Seriously, Bart should be my age by now.)
  • Bring back the spirit of the old seasons, although The Simpsons have been in a worse state than today, they still seem to have lost their edge. But maybe it is just the world that has changed. :)
    I used to watch each and every episode, I even drove an hour to a friend to se the latest episodes. He had a satellite dish with a decoder for a UK channel that we couldn't get unless you knew someone in England who would buy it and send it to you. We saw the latest episodes there instead of having to wait 2-3 years

  • New episodes are so bad nowadays... (Score:4, Funny)

    by RinzeWind ( 413873 ) <chema&rinzewind,org> on Saturday January 07, 2006 @07:42AM (#14416268) Homepage
    ... they're not worth the download anymore.

  • The show's well past its sell-by date (Score:5, Insightful)

    by manavendra ( 688020 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @07:42AM (#14416270) Homepage Journal
    Yes, Simpsons was the cornerstore of comedy one time. Not only did it have a comic sense and timing, but also it had the gumption to take the joke on American masses, whilst selling itself to them. It had a great sense of poking fun at the racial discriminations that exist in the american society, yet had the charm brought by breaking the very same prejudices.

    However, the last couple of seasons have been a mere caricature of the show, as well as the characters. Like someone else said on here, its now formulaic - no longer the greatest show in 20th century
    • The Simpsons isn't going anywhere. If you thought Star Trek fans went nuts when they wanted to cancel Enterprise, just wait for an attempt to cancel the Simpsons. This show has hundreds of millions of obsessive fans who will watch it without fail, no matter how bad the shows get. No amount of merchandising, product placement, spin-offs or even live-action films will kill the Simpsons.

      It's hopeless. Utterly, utterly hopeless.

  • best simpsons seasons are past? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 07, 2006 @08:02AM (#14416297)
    Why are some technologies always 5 years away, why is any band's "early stuff" always the best, and why are the best simpsons/seinfeld/whatever episodes always a few seasons back I wonder. (?)

    • Everything looks better through the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia.

      New stuff isn't as bad as we think it is. In 5 years, you might grow to like the "new" album (which is now actually 4 years old).

      And just think how cool Dr. Who used to be!

      • But people DO like the new Who. In fact, they really like it over in the UK. It's consistently in the top 5 in nightly ratings and spends most of its time in the top 3 right behind juggernauts like Coronation Street. The new Dr. Who is just as cool as the old show to most people. In fact, I consider myself to be pretty hardcore fan of the old show. I prefer the newer stuff to the drivel that Pip and Jane put out under Jonathan Nathan Turner. Anyone remember the Timelash anagram (hint: the first word i
        • I was talking about the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia. When referring to Dr. Who and nostalgia, I thought it was obvious I was referring to the old Dr. Who. :) Sorry for the confusion. My comment was intended to say absolutely nothing about the new Dr. Who. :) (And Tom Baker was cool, dammit. At least, I remember it like that. :))
          --
          A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything. --Friedrich Nietzsche
          --
          Karma: Negative (mostly from not giving a fuck)
    • Because people lives on memory. Everything is better in the past. And just like most music album out there, some episode "grow" on you. You figure its funny after you see it for the 20th time at the cartoon network. Why do you think Fox release the DVD set 5 years late?

      But hey, most people on slashdot (and a lot of other places) think they are connoisseur if they ditch what is mainstream and glorify the underdogs.

    • why is any band's "early stuff" always the best

      This is part of the star process and why some musicians cringe at a certain level of fame. Take a band starting out: they work for years doing gigs playing and refining say 15-25 original songs. They get a recording contract and release an album a year (to stay relevant) for four years. Within a couple of albums, they have released the songs that took them two or three years of constant hard work to perfect (playing them live, practices, writing sessions) and

      • It's about passion too..... Those first albums represent the artists' ideals and their want to make a great piece of work. The early albums contain the work the artists did when all they cared about was their art and "making it". They poured their heart and soul into it.

        Later on, the industry wears on them and they no longer produce great music, and/or lose interest in their art and move on.

        INMO, This is not a universal idea that is applicable to every artist, but does apply to many.

    • In the case of the Simpsons, hoewever, this really is the case.

      My wife has never watched the Simpsons. Last year I bought the first few seasons on DVD and we watched it together. She thought it was hilarious! So we caught a few of the new episodes on regular TV. She looked at me and asked why the new ones are so "dumb" compared to the first couple seasons, and not as funny.

      God, I love that woman.
      • I am a huge Simpson's freak, and I have had a similar experience with my wife as well (gotta love 'em) where she came to the same conclusion. They really have become too formulaic. And this is coming from a very big fan. There are maybe 2 or 3 instances of comedy in a show, and the plots are usually so far out there that it just doesn't appeal to the common man anymore. They need to get their act together. I don't care if they have done every possible combination of events known to man. They need to s
    • I think wo covered this is a myth class once; Humans have a tendency to think the past was always better. People remeber the good and let the bad slide, somehow.
    • Media saturation. Some artists try to combat this by staying out of the limelight despite success, like the band Tool.

  • Offshoring the drawing... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by IAAP ( 937607 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @08:15AM (#14416322)
    FTA:Until about five years ago, "The Simpsons" was hand-made and hand-drawn. Now, black-and-white storyboards and digital drawings called "animatics" are done in Los Angeles at Film Roman Studio. Then the material is shipped to South Korea, where characters' movements are filled in and the coloring is done

    I was once told this by a filmaker. He said that it went to Mexico in other cases. I just think it's amazing that they can get the movements down so that it's smooth. I remember when the Simpsons first came on the "Tracy Ullman" show. They were poorly deawn and had jerky movements, and I didn't think they were funny. Now, I think they're funny and quite relevent.

    The show with Bart eating from the vending machines and getting really fat touched on a lot of issues these days. One of them is local school boards putting junk food vending machines (Coke) in their schools to help pay the bills and adding to the childhood obesity problem.

    • Re:Offshoring the drawing... (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward
      "I just think it's amazing that they can get the movements down so that it's smooth."

      Generally in animation if the timing of the keyframes are good and solid; the inbetweening will work. It's all about timing, not how well drawn it is or wether it's cg or whatever. Most people(some times even people into animating) don't realise this.
    • "The show with Bart eating from the vending machines and getting really fat touched on a lot of issues these days. One of them is local school boards putting junk food vending machines (Coke) in their schools to help pay the bills and adding to the childhood obesity problem."

      Problem is, it is a very shallow approach to the issue without any bite or sarcasm or a hint of cleverness. All the recent episodes have been like this. I can't believe you're eating this tripe!

  • Urgh. (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Yes, we all love "Mr. Plow"! Oh, you've got the song memorized, do you? SO DOES EVERYONE ELSE!
    • Ah, but do you mean the rap or the jingle?

      Call Mr Plow
      That's my name
      That name again
      Is Mr Plow!

      I'm Mr Plow
      And I'm here to say
      I'm the plowingest guy in the USA
      I got a big plow
      And I move a lot of things
      Just like your cow
      If you have one

  • naysayers! (Score:1, Redundant)

    by ClioCJS ( 264898 )
    Are you actually saying you'd rather watch something else, than current Simpsons???

    "You people are fickle!"
    -Mayor Quimby

    You people are the same ones who killed Futurama and SeaLab.

  • more info on the soundstage (Score:4, Interesting)

    by rtphokie ( 518490 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @09:46AM (#14416609)
    Fox's website has more info and a photo of the Marge Simpson Soundstage [foxstudios.com] where the voices are recorded. Next time you are watching, picture the actors sitting, often alone, in this room recording their lines.

  • Table reads (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Are fans ever invited? You know, the folks that made many of these people rich?

  • Today kids, we're in Korea... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Tim Browse ( 9263 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @10:02AM (#14416671)
    ...to see how American cartoons are made!

  • Seems I am far from alone in believing that the Simpsons has seen better days. Maybe it's time Fox thought about wrapping up the franchise and putting it to bed.

    A few years ago a friend introduced me to Family Guy and with it a vast amount of new comedy which the Simpsons has not been able to rival. Seems though that Family Guy and Simpsons do have a bitter rivalry going on [wikipedia.org]. Shame that Family Guy was taken off the air for three years. Really this should have been done to the Simpsons to give the network a

    • Why I quit watching The Simpsons (Score:4, Insightful)

      by metamatic ( 202216 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @11:07AM (#14416910) Homepage Journal
      For the last year or two I'd been noticing the decline in quality of The Simpsons. Then I watched "The Italian Bob". The episode was completely unfunny, I didn't laugh once. And in the middle, they had the nerve to rip on Family Guy and American Dad for "plagiarism".

      Well, Family Guy and American Dad may not be the most original scenarios around, but you know what? Those shows are funny. The Simpsons no longer is. So either get better, or quit whining.

      (Or preferably, kill The Simpsons and bring back Futurama.)
    • Maybe this is the reason: Alex Borstein [alexborstein.com]

      Mad TV died after she left. She was one of the writers of Mad TV and plays Lois on Family Guy. Go to Familyguy.com [familyguy.com] and you will see she is also a writer for the show.

      qz

    • FWIW: I saw cast of the Simpsons do a live script-reading of an episode as part of the Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal a few years ago. Afterwards there was a Q&A session with Groening, during which someone asked how much longer the show would be on. He (paraphrased) said that the show is making a ton of money for him and his team and a ton of money for Fox, and that until one of those two things changes, the show is unlikely to end.

  • The Bottom Line (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Recent Simpson's episodes are still better than 99% of the crap on TV and this is one of the very few shows I make an effort to watch.

  • It IS 1999! (Score:1, Redundant)

    by grumling ( 94709 )
    I must have a time vortex in my apartment. I start reading the news and find this story http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4586940.stm [bbc.co.uk] and a Simpsons story on the same page. I have to warn everyone that the Y2K bug isn't as big a deal as we all think, and to make sure I pay closer attention to the French new year's celebration!

  • Futurama v. Simpsons (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Josh teh Jenius ( 940261 ) on Saturday January 07, 2006 @12:37PM (#14417249) Homepage
    For XMAS this year, the fiance gave me Simpsons season 7. Halfway through it, I realized that *THIS* was the season (IMO) that marked the end of the greatest television show in history. I will still watch season 3-6 now and again, and quite a few later episodes are real gems. But nothing past season 7 is getting my $40. Sorry. I bought my tshirt, I ate my butterfingers, but I draw the line with season 8. However, I would gladly pay $160 for another season of Futurama.
  • is George Meyer. Here is an interview [snpp.com] that shows how his sense of humor was what made the Simpsons really, really funny for those seasons. After he left, it was mere mortals who were writing the show.
  • Worst slashdot post ever.
  • While they are more miss than hit these days, come on, you have to admit the "Future Drama" episode was brilliant.

    Stupid flounders...

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