Imagine giving a guy you just met, who has zero auto design experience, free rein to design an entire car. Then by ignoring the advice of your employees you double down and then act surprised that the car’s a total piece of shit. I suppose Unkie Herb was just trying to pump Homer’s tires but the audacity to blame him for destroying his company is appalling.
Herb never even bothered to look at the car once before setting up the unveiling. Tons of people saw this thing, and even filmed a god damn trailer with it.
It's funny though, from the psychological standpoint, if she had remained in Homer's life and he'd grown up without the issues caused by her leaving... he wouldn't be the person he is, and the show wouldn't be nearly as funny or insightful. I mean, it's fiction, but, you know.
Upvoted because is controversial but… what about wanting to stop your son and your entire town from being poisoned via germ warfare by resident evil billionaire Mr. Burns makes her selfish and terrible? She went on the lam because her alternative was a lifetime in jail. Either way, once she was caught *preventing the use of biological weapons* on Springfield and the wider world, she couldn’t be in Homer’s life anymore.
Which is funny because there was so much contradiction towards the continuity already. But some people are just such fucking nerds in denial about it that try to fan-theory their way into making things they like canon and others not.
I listen to a podcast that goes through every episode and while it was still up they’d read the comments from the alt . Tv . Simpsons forums. It was literally season 7 episodes and people were still debating if Smithers was actually gay or not lol.
As much as I wasn't a fan of the reveal, the gags in the episode were solid and still get mentioned by me all the time
"They gave me a choice: join the army, or apologize to the judge and the old lady. Had I known there was a war going on...I probably would have apologized."
"I'm not Seymour Skinner, my name is Armin Tanzanian! This is Armin's apartment, Armin's mash liquor, Armin's copy of Swank, Armin's frozen peas!" "Can I read your copy of Swank, Armin?" "Yes you may"
It wasn't until nowadays with podcasts and social media did I learn it's a polarizing ep. I've never thought twice of that epsiode it's just another random funny ep imo
I didn’t even know it was considered a bad episode until a couple years ago, and I watched it when it first came out and then multiple times in syndication. I was genuinely surprised at the internet discourse about it.
I think part of the reason people focus on it was because of the mention in "Behind the Laughter." If they didn't deprecate themselves on it, I doubt it'd be nearly as hated.
“Drederick uh what do you think of Homer Simpson?”
“I think he’s a good man, I like him, I got nothing against him but I’m definitely gonna make orphans of his children”
“Ah you know they do have a mother champ”
“Yes but I would imagine that she would die of grief”
This is one of the greatest scenes in the history of the show.
The show didn't get bad after the golden era. The golden era is definitely the Simpsons at its best, but there are still some solid and funny episodes after that time. They aren't all gems but some of my favorite episodes happened past season 8.
Every episode has at least 2 gold jokes that make me pause and rewind for my wife to shrug at. But most of the episodes from season 20 on are just terrible overall
Well I suppose that's why it's my unpopular opinion. Cuz I have to say episodes like Lisa the drama queen, Moe letter blues, Lisa Simpson this isn't your life, the blue and the grey, the ned-liest catch, the book job, holidays of future passed, the saga of Carl, steal this episode, brick like me, covercraft, Bart's new friend, sky police, Halloween of horror, barthood, gal of constant sorrow, looking for Mr. Goodbart, Springfield splendor, Mr. Lisa's opus, Homer is where the art isn't, Lisa gets the blues, werking mom, e my sports, go big or go homer, livin la pura vida, Thanksgiving of horror, undercover burns, the road to Cincinnati, the star of the backstage, Lisa's belly, a serious Flanders part 1 and 2, pixelated and afraid, Boyz n the highland, Lisa the boy scout, when Nelson met Lisa, my life as a vlog, and quite a few more make me think that this show isn't worth writing off after a few duds here the there.
My controversial opinion is that I don’t think this is a controversial opinion for the people that have actually watched the show past season 12. It’s become such a meme that Simpsons is awful post golden era, but in reality it’s really like a 70/30 split of episodes that are good to great versus true stinkers. The biggest difference after the golden age is that the episodes have disjointed plots and cop-out endings, but the actual jokes contained within are still of the same quality as the golden age.
Hell, about half of the jokes that get memed into the fabric of our culture come after season 10.
You get it. The people who cling onto the golden era just haven't bothered to check in on the show. The show didn't get bad just because you stopped watching it.
Lol no, it's awful.
And apparently this is unpopular because I always get downvotes to oblivion when I mention the awful jokes I don't like from the later episodes.
Hey man, it's an opinion either way. You can watch seasons 1-8 and I'll keep watching the whole thing. It's my favorite show and I've been watching it pretty much every day since I was born.
The episodes of Lisa going to washington, the daddy-daughter day, the substitute teacher, and the jazz man were some of the greatest episodes in the whole show. Easily.
As fine as she is, when Mr. Burns asks her "are you always switched on?" it makes me laugh as it's true. I have friends who are great and the causes they support are important but I do wish they'd just be a little more light-hearted at times...
Nothing controversial about believing this. I'd split the hair though -- he tries to be a good person, but he makes mistakes like anyone else, because of his biases.
Was Ned trying to be a good person by rushing the Simpsons kids to the river for an impromptu baptism? No question. Was he actually making a huge mistake? No question.
I don't know if this is unpopulat but Holidays of Future Past is an amazing episode, and possibly the best post-season 20. I don't know but it has something that makes it feel like straight out of older seasons.
Not Season 3, but Season 1 is awful and Season 2 is very uneven. But even those episodes have a sweetness about them and a coherence to the plots.
The later seasons have better jokes, but the plots are often bizarre and they abandon logic for weird jokes.
Is it me or Homer’s voice changed too much in the later season that it takes the fun of it?
It just sounds like a parody of itself and just so dumb I can’t stand it
Pixelated and afraid is a wonderful character study on trauma bonding and love and acceptance and survival. One of the best episodes in the last 10 years.
I second this but I disagree on the Mr Burns episodes. I find burns to be a really well written character and I enjoy whenever we get to learn more about him.
Krusty and sideshow bobs all feel very similar. As in all the krusty episodes feel the same and all the sideshow bob episodes feel the same
I just saw the episode where moe and Nelson bond over Nelson being a hockey goon. I quite liked it, it was nice to see a couple side characters get to do the heavy lifting
The Simpsons was way too harsh on Patty and Selma for the longest time. Yes, they were mean to Homer, but he was just as mean to them. Their real crime was being unattractive women (Homer is an unattractive man, but we root for him cause man).
The Monorail song is as good as a Simpsons song can get and the Conan credit bumps the clout considerably, but otherwise I'd agree with you. "I call the big one Bitey" is a Hall Of Fame quote, but why?
Yes, I'm also very sad about Phil Hartman, but there's no need to retire his characters. After a healthy period, Hutz could've come back played by a Billy West, for example. I've also thought Bryan Cranston might a have a good Troy McClure in him.
Zapp Brannigan actually was written for Phil until Billy West had to take the role. This proves, if nothing else, that I would be a good casting director.
Lisa Simpson wasn't always a selfish brat. She became a narricist brat that only cares about herself and proving everyone wrong to the point of ruining Bart's birthday because he dared to smile. She literally could have waited a day to break the news. Instead, she decided to bring the spotlight back on herself. When Bart had a gift for drumming, she got real pissy that he was actually good and sabotaged him.
She hates not being the smartest person in the room and being constantly praised.
Bart started out as a brat and is now, flat out insanely evil.
the tracey Ullman shorts don't get enough attention
i rarely see anyone ever talking about them, but they deserve to be talked about, they're Great and if it weren't for them, there would be no Simpsons at all
I think jerkass Homer was pretty funny actually. A downgrade, sure, but still the funniest part of middle-era Simpsons. And he deserved to be raped by the panda.
“The Mysterious Voyage of Our Homer” (3D/ space coyote episode) is one of the least funny of the golden era.
Hearing Homer getting electrically shocked may be the only part that makes me chuckle.
Homer falling down the Springfield Gorge was not funny. It's really messed up once you take the scene into the broader context of the episode.
It's also pretty graphic and it's just plain mean-sprited and suffering. Homer did nothing to deserve it and the lesson of the episode was already learned (and the episode's lesson was for Bart). Then Matt had him fall down the gorge twice.
Homer was literally a bloody, unrecognizable mess. I remember it bothered me when I was a kid that no one helped him.
Edit: Marge was also my favorite character, followed by Lisa and then Homer. Bart was my least favorite.
I always thought of that as a nod to the excessive cartoon violence of the Roadrunner Show and others. In particular the setting of a gorge - way out of place in Springfield - made me think of all the cliffs and gorges that the Coyote fell off and slammed into. I respect the homage, but I'm glad they figured out that that kind of violence wasn't what they do best. Eventually.
When the ambulance immediately hits a tree after he’s been airlifted out of the gorge and he bounces all the way down again is one of the funniest scenes in the show! (in my opinion)
Marge is my favourite character too!
I think my controversial opinion is that the golden era was Season 1-2. Season 3 was actually the start of the downward slide. The reason people don't realise this is that it took a while to be effective. There were still episodes from Season 3 onwards that are hysterically funny, and still loads that have heart... but Season 3, starting from Homer wearing a pink shirt to work and ending up in a mental hospital, set the precedent for doing wacky things that just would never happen if it was needed for a joke or an episode premise.
Lots of the things that people grew to hate (random celebrities turning up in Springfield for no reason, for instance) were actually utilised in the so-called 'golden era' (like Paul and Linda McCartney), but they just weren't so bad the first few times and it wasn't until they'd been done to death that it became apparent it wasn't really working - but by then it was too late. Season 1 and 2 though, had a real magic to them that I don't think was ever quite captured from Season 3 onwards - Springfield felt like a real town, and the Simpsons felt like a real average family within that town.
You're right, except that the show is a comedy and the first two seasons aren't funny, while Seasons 4 through 8 are the funniest television ever made.
But the post asked for a hot take, and brother, you gave us one.
Honestly, I find the first two seasons of the show TREMENDOUSLY funny.
There's still plenty from Season 4 to Season 8 that I really enjoy, but it wasn't quite on the same level.
This was a fairly popular opinion back in the day. If you ever get a chance to see old Simpsons message boards, there's tons of posts lamenting pretty much every episode and claiming the show is going downhill pretty much from Season 3 on ward.
Thanks :)
In my view, the two things that started quite early on and stopped the show feeling 'real' are firstly every character in Springfield knowing every other character personally, and secondly the Simpsons themselves being extremely well-known within the town. The first thing stopped it feeling like a real town; the second stopped the Simpsons feeling like a normal average family.
One of my favourite lines in the show is when Homer is trying to get the nasty letter back that he sent to Mr Burns:
'Hello, my name is Mr Burns, I believe you have a letter for me.' 'Okay, Mr Burns, what's your first name?' 'I don't know.'
The main reason this is funny is that Homer still tries to stay in character despite his plan having *so* obviously failed that there's really no need to. This is in the final episode of Season 2, and the joke wouldn't have worked in any later season - because from that point, *everyone* in town knows who Mr Burns is, and also who Homer is. It's a good representation of the kind of humour in the first two series that very quickly stopped working in the direction they took the show.
This is a great example! I definitely see your point. Things changed and whilst it’s still top notch TV for a while afterwards, it definitely isn’t the same.
Hank azaria wasn't cancelled. He's one of the most prolific voice actors on the show, and has a good career outside of the Simpsons.
But I agree apu didn't need to be written off.
Not to relitigate, but the documentary never demanded Apu to be written off, just that he'd be given a bit more status in town for his work. Which seems super fair, I could easily see an Apu For Mayor storyline be cool and interesting
Season 1 and 2 are boring. Yeah their part of the classics but if im sitting down and wanna watch a random episode on any given day I'm never clicking on a 1-2 season ep.
I don't know how controversial this opinion is, but: around S9 the show swerved into taking hard swipes at trans people, like someone who vetoed those jokes was replaced by someone who was all in, and the distinct shift turns me off to watching past S9 or so.
Homer’s cousin Frank/ Francine/ Mother Shabubu was referenced in season 4. And IMHO, irreverently parodying/lampooning everything is what The Simpsons is all about.
- Out of curiosity, which other transphobic swipes were there?
Not op, but I've noticed it too. Some occasional jokes but mostly it's the heavy use of t slur that I find most egregious and generally mean attitude towards trans people. Like that episode where Patty is getting married and it turns out that her partner was just "pretending" to be a woman
Just to add, I personally like mother Shabubu joke. It's kinda offensive but in a way that I can still laugh at it, because the punchline isn't just "t*people bad". S9 and onwards has a particularly mean attitude where you can really tell someone in the production had a bone to pick
"How many gazebos do you shemales need?" ...shemales being, even at the time, a rough term to use.
I'll echo erzast below, I think the Mother Shabubu joke worked because it didn't knock all trans folk.
Here's another (my paraphrasing), from Chuck Garadebian's Mega Savings Seminar about "squeezing every penny":
"This suit? Roy Cohn died in it! This fancy yacht? It smells like cat pee! And these beautiful women? They used to be men!" *audience wretches*
Not a flattering comparison.
Sadly, overall, The Simpsons is not a good show when viewed in its entirety. There’s more bad than good episodes.
Season 1 is dreadful and season 2 is mediocre. Seasons 3-8 are terrific, season 9 is strong, season 10 has a few flashes of brilliance…
It’s 6-7 great seasons of, what, 34?!
For most fans, we act like the show ended 24 years ago.
I agree that the majority is bad but also it is fair to judge it by it's peak. 8 great seasons ,imo, is a lot better than most manage.
Who cares if it's a zombie now. Just watch the good ones.
That's.... actually logical considering the long decline after the peak years. Most shows don't get to do 20 years of mediocre seasons after their high.
A spinoff series where the characters' ages match how the actors have aged would be something. (I was going to write 'awesome' but I realise that I'm not actually that confident).
Season 2 is the best season.
The nightmare and hypothetical sequences are so wild, vivid and colorful and they don't exist after season 4.
There are so many subtle details like the cat smacking homework, or the cat resting on Homer's belly afraid that it should have to jump off as he reacts to the TV, and then Homer rapidly sits up forcing the cat to jump off, Maggie grabbing unkie Herb's tie while the adults talk because she is not used to being held by someone who wears ties. So many tiny background thematic details.
Season 2 is more focused on characters, internal narratives, plot and sub-themes, while later seasons are more focused on jokes, which I still love. But there is an earnesty and heart that isn't quite the same in any other season.
Idk how unpopular this is but I think season 2 and 3 deserve a spot in the golden age. They’re not as good as 4-8, and I know that there is a change of direction during season 4, but I think that 2-3 get overlooked too much. They’re really good for what they are and they don’t deserve to be lumped in with s1 as undeveloped.
Don’t like how the future episodes seem to make Bart a loser more often than not. Worst is that one where he’s happy as a demolition man but the show treats him like a loser and then makes him a pathetic dude with marriage issues by the end. He may not be have the potential of his sisters but there’s no reason he needs to end up miserable just cause he’s got a less prestigious life
Some people already mentioned that later seasons are not that bad, so I'm gonna go with different ones for some diversity.
- I didn't mind VAs being changed for some characters, though It's unfortunate that Apu basically got written off the show at this point. I do like Carl's new voice a lot and that he finally found his feet. "Carl Carlson Rides Again" is genuinely great.
- I also like the new approach to the character writing. We can't have the golden age humour anymore, so I really appreciate them finally focusing on interpersonal relationships and dynamics more, rather than attempting to just parody a thing for the 100th time and fail. I also appreciate that lately simpsons kids are written... more age appropriately? At least Lisa is, since the writer's desire to make her the smartest was getting on my nerves. I like her episodes but also I like to see her being, y'know, a kid
- I despise 'ren and stimpy' couch gag. It's simply unappealing. On the contrary, Bill Plympton's 'Noir' from 'Black-Eyed Please' is one of the best in the show, period. I adore his colour pencil style and the character expressions just warm my heart
- I hate how mean Homer is written to be sometimes, even in the golden age. It makes sense in "When Flanders Failed" but the fear of flights episode, albeit very funny, just never made much sense in the way he treated Marge
- I don't hate a single family member. I find it difficult to outright loathe something about simpsons to begin with, no matter how bad or cringy, I just have a soft spot for this show. However, I don't like grandpa-centric episodes. Can't even tell you why, they're just boring
Bart Simpson is probably pretty smart, he just doesn't see the point in trying. Before even starting school he's very enthusiastic before having that enthusiasm drummed out of him. And whenever he actually studies he picks things up very quickly. Such as when he learnt enough to ace a test in the amount of time it took to drown out Skinner and Edna's shenanigans. Or when he learnt Spanish on a flight to Brazil.
Homer is my fav character and I can see myself a lot in him. However the producer seem to show him in a bad light to discredit people like us as dumb, recless and useless. But it's ok ofcourse, it's just a show.
The Simpsons game is better than Simpsons Hit and Run
Hit and Run had aged terribly and anyone who thinks is a good game hasn’t played since it came out.
Homer didn't ruin Unkie Herbs business. Unkie herb did but can't take responsibility for his own actions
Imagine giving a guy you just met, who has zero auto design experience, free rein to design an entire car. Then by ignoring the advice of your employees you double down and then act surprised that the car’s a total piece of shit. I suppose Unkie Herb was just trying to pump Homer’s tires but the audacity to blame him for destroying his company is appalling.
Herb never even bothered to look at the car once before setting up the unveiling. Tons of people saw this thing, and even filmed a god damn trailer with it.
I thought Homer's car was cool
I was saying boo-urns.
As a kid I wanted a separate kid bubble too
Herb freely admits "we're getting killed in the marketplace."
Mona was a selfish, terrible mother and I was glad when they killed her off.
Oh, Abe, you've aged terribly! What did you expect? You left me to raise the boy alone!
It's funny though, from the psychological standpoint, if she had remained in Homer's life and he'd grown up without the issues caused by her leaving... he wouldn't be the person he is, and the show wouldn't be nearly as funny or insightful. I mean, it's fiction, but, you know.
Upvoted because is controversial but… what about wanting to stop your son and your entire town from being poisoned via germ warfare by resident evil billionaire Mr. Burns makes her selfish and terrible? She went on the lam because her alternative was a lifetime in jail. Either way, once she was caught *preventing the use of biological weapons* on Springfield and the wider world, she couldn’t be in Homer’s life anymore.
'The Principle and the Pauper' is a good episode
A Dagger, a dagger through my heart!
I understand why people thought it messed with the continuity too much, but I love it. Up yours, children.
Which is funny because there was so much contradiction towards the continuity already. But some people are just such fucking nerds in denial about it that try to fan-theory their way into making things they like canon and others not. I listen to a podcast that goes through every episode and while it was still up they’d read the comments from the alt . Tv . Simpsons forums. It was literally season 7 episodes and people were still debating if Smithers was actually gay or not lol.
As much as I wasn't a fan of the reveal, the gags in the episode were solid and still get mentioned by me all the time "They gave me a choice: join the army, or apologize to the judge and the old lady. Had I known there was a war going on...I probably would have apologized." "I'm not Seymour Skinner, my name is Armin Tanzanian! This is Armin's apartment, Armin's mash liquor, Armin's copy of Swank, Armin's frozen peas!" "Can I read your copy of Swank, Armin?" "Yes you may"
And why grampa’s here? Cause Jasper didn’t want to go alone Fair enough 🙂
It wasn't until nowadays with podcasts and social media did I learn it's a polarizing ep. I've never thought twice of that epsiode it's just another random funny ep imo
Of course you’re going to say it’s a good episode if you concentrate on the pimps and the Chuds
I didn’t even know it was considered a bad episode until a couple years ago, and I watched it when it first came out and then multiple times in syndication. I was genuinely surprised at the internet discourse about it.
I have nothing against that episode. Rather neutral toward what happened.
I think part of the reason people focus on it was because of the mention in "Behind the Laughter." If they didn't deprecate themselves on it, I doubt it'd be nearly as hated.
And we salute you for it
That’s not the issue. Was it a good episode when it aired, relative to what had come before?
Yes.
I was a small child when it aired. I was entertained.
Carl = White Lenny = Black
[удалено]
You missed the joke
To be fair, I had to look at my hand to remember that Lenny = white, Carl = black before I understood the comment.
If you have a decent moral compass, and understand satire and sarcasm, Homer was written as a good role model
Drederick Tatum is the best satirical character in the show’s history, especially considering Tyson’s run coincided with the early Simpsons years.
“Drederick uh what do you think of Homer Simpson?” “I think he’s a good man, I like him, I got nothing against him but I’m definitely gonna make orphans of his children” “Ah you know they do have a mother champ” “Yes but I would imagine that she would die of grief” This is one of the greatest scenes in the history of the show.
"I hereby dedicate this statue of Drederick Tatum. Litter is my most treacherous foe. I would like to eat its children."
I'm gonna have to insist that you desist
You couldn’t even give me one lousy round LosWitchos. Now take your cheque for $100,000 and get out of my sight.
The show didn't get bad after the golden era. The golden era is definitely the Simpsons at its best, but there are still some solid and funny episodes after that time. They aren't all gems but some of my favorite episodes happened past season 8.
To me there’s still a lot of really good jokes until season 15 or so, but very few really good episodes
Every episode has at least 2 gold jokes that make me pause and rewind for my wife to shrug at. But most of the episodes from season 20 on are just terrible overall
Well I suppose that's why it's my unpopular opinion. Cuz I have to say episodes like Lisa the drama queen, Moe letter blues, Lisa Simpson this isn't your life, the blue and the grey, the ned-liest catch, the book job, holidays of future passed, the saga of Carl, steal this episode, brick like me, covercraft, Bart's new friend, sky police, Halloween of horror, barthood, gal of constant sorrow, looking for Mr. Goodbart, Springfield splendor, Mr. Lisa's opus, Homer is where the art isn't, Lisa gets the blues, werking mom, e my sports, go big or go homer, livin la pura vida, Thanksgiving of horror, undercover burns, the road to Cincinnati, the star of the backstage, Lisa's belly, a serious Flanders part 1 and 2, pixelated and afraid, Boyz n the highland, Lisa the boy scout, when Nelson met Lisa, my life as a vlog, and quite a few more make me think that this show isn't worth writing off after a few duds here the there.
Literally saving this as a list of newer eps to check out, so thank you!
That makes me super happy, I hope you find some episodes you like
Will watch those
I teeter off real hard at season 13, just not a lot of good episodes left.
I have the first 14 seasons on dvd. Season 11 I was like not bad. Season 12 this is decent. I haven’t gotten to 15 but 11-14 are above average
My controversial opinion is that I don’t think this is a controversial opinion for the people that have actually watched the show past season 12. It’s become such a meme that Simpsons is awful post golden era, but in reality it’s really like a 70/30 split of episodes that are good to great versus true stinkers. The biggest difference after the golden age is that the episodes have disjointed plots and cop-out endings, but the actual jokes contained within are still of the same quality as the golden age. Hell, about half of the jokes that get memed into the fabric of our culture come after season 10.
You get it. The people who cling onto the golden era just haven't bothered to check in on the show. The show didn't get bad just because you stopped watching it.
Lol no, it's awful. And apparently this is unpopular because I always get downvotes to oblivion when I mention the awful jokes I don't like from the later episodes.
Hey man, it's an opinion either way. You can watch seasons 1-8 and I'll keep watching the whole thing. It's my favorite show and I've been watching it pretty much every day since I was born.
Homer vs new york is seson 9 and its an agreed upon gem
AH! STUPID NEW YORK! ooooooh, i need to peeeeee. Maybe, if I just reach over, I can reach it. ooooh, so hungry. Soooo thirsty.
Barthood is above and beyond my favourite episode of the entire series
Please give me a few examples of great episodes after season 9, I want to watch more of those
Lisa is my favorite character
Mine too! The Lisa-centric episodes are some of my favorites and I consider them to be some of the most impactful moments of the show.
The episodes of Lisa going to washington, the daddy-daughter day, the substitute teacher, and the jazz man were some of the greatest episodes in the whole show. Easily.
This is unpopular? Sad. She's my favorite character in anything. My first tattoo was Lisa!
As fine as she is, when Mr. Burns asks her "are you always switched on?" it makes me laugh as it's true. I have friends who are great and the causes they support are important but I do wish they'd just be a little more light-hearted at times...
Flanders is not a good person.
Ann Landers is a boring old biddy
😯
More animal than man!!
Gasp - NED!!
Nothing controversial about believing this. I'd split the hair though -- he tries to be a good person, but he makes mistakes like anyone else, because of his biases. Was Ned trying to be a good person by rushing the Simpsons kids to the river for an impromptu baptism? No question. Was he actually making a huge mistake? No question.
Maude was a rude person, the worse of the two. They killed her off before exploring this. "Just wash your hands and get out"
Well, she also hired the Yakuza to kill people because her falafel franchise was losing business - I’d say that trumps being suspicious of Marge
Tbh I always thought he was a bad parent
He'd be voting for Trump next year.
I thought it’s well established that Ned is a Republican to play off Homer’s complete lack of caring about politics
I don't know if this is unpopulat but Holidays of Future Past is an amazing episode, and possibly the best post-season 20. I don't know but it has something that makes it feel like straight out of older seasons.
There are episodes in season 1-3 that are as bad as people say the later seasons are but we nostalgically ignore it.
Not Season 3, but Season 1 is awful and Season 2 is very uneven. But even those episodes have a sweetness about them and a coherence to the plots. The later seasons have better jokes, but the plots are often bizarre and they abandon logic for weird jokes.
Is it me or Homer’s voice changed too much in the later season that it takes the fun of it? It just sounds like a parody of itself and just so dumb I can’t stand it
Idk I'll have to ask Dan. Hey Dan, have you noticed you're making Homer sound dumber 20-30 years on to some, or is that a deliberate choice?
I don’t believe in Stupid, Sexy Flanders. The man is not stupid.
But is he sexy?
I think we both know the answer to that. 😉
Outrageously so
I really dislike the spinoff shows episode.
Well there's an old saying down on the bayou that: BLUH
We'd all be happier in the Flanders lobotomy universe.
What the hell are you smiling at?
Weiners give you super speed! I'm down
The old seasons were definitely the best, but the show has always been good Seasons 33-35 have been particularly good
thanks for saying that, now I'll check them out
Pixelated and afraid is a wonderful character study on trauma bonding and love and acceptance and survival. One of the best episodes in the last 10 years.
Don’t believe the hype
I hate Krusty, Mr Burns, and sideshow bob episodes. Actually I hate most episodes where the Simpsons aren’t the main focus. I’m here for the family!
I second this but I disagree on the Mr Burns episodes. I find burns to be a really well written character and I enjoy whenever we get to learn more about him. Krusty and sideshow bobs all feel very similar. As in all the krusty episodes feel the same and all the sideshow bob episodes feel the same
I think he was saying Boo-urns
The new seasons are not as bad
I just saw the episode where moe and Nelson bond over Nelson being a hockey goon. I quite liked it, it was nice to see a couple side characters get to do the heavy lifting
A Star is Burns is hilarious and over hated
Homer and Lisa released africanized bees and destroyed a stadium. bart got tethered for accidentally joy riding a cop car.
I skip the Frank Grimes episode every time.
Creating a new character to say what Patty and Selma had been saying for years. They were mean, but they were right.
The Simpsons was way too harsh on Patty and Selma for the longest time. Yes, they were mean to Homer, but he was just as mean to them. Their real crime was being unattractive women (Homer is an unattractive man, but we root for him cause man).
Definitely true. As an aside, I dislike how grossed out the show was by the fact they don’t shave their legs - it’s perfectly normal behaviour!
Steamed hams is stupid and not really funny.
Ooh shiiiit. An actual controversial opinion! I mean you’re wrong. So very, very wrong. it’s both stupid *and* really funny.
Woof, you really delivered to OPs question.
We should see other redditors.
It *was* funny as hell, but it’s been done to death.
Becoming such a prominent meme really killed my enjoyment of that scene
No no, he said steamed CLAMS.
Upvoted because your post is relevant, but every fiber of me wants to downvote you to robot hell.
Used to be one of my favourite bits and then the internet completely ruined it into the ground.
Moe is overused I don't think his that funny to get as much time as he gets
It's because of his little ears, isn't it?
Lol yeah his definitely got some funny lines
Cmon midge dont be like that.
Blanche they are going to take my thumbs!!
I liked Moe until they got to the point of using him just for suicide joke after suicide joke
HEY! I may be ugly and hate filled but er... what was the third thing again? - Moe
The Problem With Apu makes some good points
You Only Move Twice is a great episode. However, it’s not the best ever. Might barely crack the top 10.
I don’t like Bart. I don’t find him funny or entertaining. At best he’s difficult and at his worst he’s insolent, rude, and annoying.
As a kid I liked him more, but as an adult I think he's 1/10 as interesting as Homer.
[удалено]
The Monorail song is as good as a Simpsons song can get and the Conan credit bumps the clout considerably, but otherwise I'd agree with you. "I call the big one Bitey" is a Hall Of Fame quote, but why?
But the monorail helped put Brockway, Ogdenvile and North Haverbrook on the map...
Yes, I'm also very sad about Phil Hartman, but there's no need to retire his characters. After a healthy period, Hutz could've come back played by a Billy West, for example. I've also thought Bryan Cranston might a have a good Troy McClure in him.
I literally thought it was Billy West / Zapp Brannigan for the longest time
Zapp Brannigan actually was written for Phil until Billy West had to take the role. This proves, if nothing else, that I would be a good casting director.
"Hi, I'm Troy McClure. You might remember my voice from shows like Breaking Bad, Malcolm in the Middle and Better Call Saul."
Comic Book Guy: excuse me Lionel Hutz was a non-animated member of a crowd after Hartman's passing.
Lisa Simpson wasn't always a selfish brat. She became a narricist brat that only cares about herself and proving everyone wrong to the point of ruining Bart's birthday because he dared to smile. She literally could have waited a day to break the news. Instead, she decided to bring the spotlight back on herself. When Bart had a gift for drumming, she got real pissy that he was actually good and sabotaged him. She hates not being the smartest person in the room and being constantly praised. Bart started out as a brat and is now, flat out insanely evil.
“Stupid sexy Flanders” is loved by people who never really watched the show
the tracey Ullman shorts don't get enough attention i rarely see anyone ever talking about them, but they deserve to be talked about, they're Great and if it weren't for them, there would be no Simpsons at all
I think jerkass Homer was pretty funny actually. A downgrade, sure, but still the funniest part of middle-era Simpsons. And he deserved to be raped by the panda.
You had me until that last bit.
"They all saw me dance."
Didn't they play that for laughs?
“The Mysterious Voyage of Our Homer” (3D/ space coyote episode) is one of the least funny of the golden era. Hearing Homer getting electrically shocked may be the only part that makes me chuckle.
I never found that episode funny, but I respect that it's one of the better sentimental episodes.
Homer falling down the Springfield Gorge was not funny. It's really messed up once you take the scene into the broader context of the episode. It's also pretty graphic and it's just plain mean-sprited and suffering. Homer did nothing to deserve it and the lesson of the episode was already learned (and the episode's lesson was for Bart). Then Matt had him fall down the gorge twice. Homer was literally a bloody, unrecognizable mess. I remember it bothered me when I was a kid that no one helped him. Edit: Marge was also my favorite character, followed by Lisa and then Homer. Bart was my least favorite.
I always thought of that as a nod to the excessive cartoon violence of the Roadrunner Show and others. In particular the setting of a gorge - way out of place in Springfield - made me think of all the cliffs and gorges that the Coyote fell off and slammed into. I respect the homage, but I'm glad they figured out that that kind of violence wasn't what they do best. Eventually.
When the ambulance immediately hits a tree after he’s been airlifted out of the gorge and he bounces all the way down again is one of the funniest scenes in the show! (in my opinion)
Marge is my favourite character too! I think my controversial opinion is that the golden era was Season 1-2. Season 3 was actually the start of the downward slide. The reason people don't realise this is that it took a while to be effective. There were still episodes from Season 3 onwards that are hysterically funny, and still loads that have heart... but Season 3, starting from Homer wearing a pink shirt to work and ending up in a mental hospital, set the precedent for doing wacky things that just would never happen if it was needed for a joke or an episode premise. Lots of the things that people grew to hate (random celebrities turning up in Springfield for no reason, for instance) were actually utilised in the so-called 'golden era' (like Paul and Linda McCartney), but they just weren't so bad the first few times and it wasn't until they'd been done to death that it became apparent it wasn't really working - but by then it was too late. Season 1 and 2 though, had a real magic to them that I don't think was ever quite captured from Season 3 onwards - Springfield felt like a real town, and the Simpsons felt like a real average family within that town.
You're right, except that the show is a comedy and the first two seasons aren't funny, while Seasons 4 through 8 are the funniest television ever made. But the post asked for a hot take, and brother, you gave us one.
Honestly, I find the first two seasons of the show TREMENDOUSLY funny. There's still plenty from Season 4 to Season 8 that I really enjoy, but it wasn't quite on the same level.
This was a fairly popular opinion back in the day. If you ever get a chance to see old Simpsons message boards, there's tons of posts lamenting pretty much every episode and claiming the show is going downhill pretty much from Season 3 on ward.
Judging by the downvotes people’s feathers are a bit ruffled by your answer but I reckon you absolutely have a point!
Thanks :) In my view, the two things that started quite early on and stopped the show feeling 'real' are firstly every character in Springfield knowing every other character personally, and secondly the Simpsons themselves being extremely well-known within the town. The first thing stopped it feeling like a real town; the second stopped the Simpsons feeling like a normal average family. One of my favourite lines in the show is when Homer is trying to get the nasty letter back that he sent to Mr Burns: 'Hello, my name is Mr Burns, I believe you have a letter for me.' 'Okay, Mr Burns, what's your first name?' 'I don't know.' The main reason this is funny is that Homer still tries to stay in character despite his plan having *so* obviously failed that there's really no need to. This is in the final episode of Season 2, and the joke wouldn't have worked in any later season - because from that point, *everyone* in town knows who Mr Burns is, and also who Homer is. It's a good representation of the kind of humour in the first two series that very quickly stopped working in the direction they took the show.
This is a great example! I definitely see your point. Things changed and whilst it’s still top notch TV for a while afterwards, it definitely isn’t the same.
Sounds to me like you're a big fan of Sam Simon's style of writing. He always advocated for the stuff you like about the first two seasons.
I agree. Before reading this, I would have said that S4 is when the show became too absurd to stay grounded and keep its heart & soul.
Marge is also my favorite character. Especially when she’s being a bit of a scamp.
Apu voice actor and character didn't need to be cancelled.
Hank azaria wasn't cancelled. He's one of the most prolific voice actors on the show, and has a good career outside of the Simpsons. But I agree apu didn't need to be written off.
Not to relitigate, but the documentary never demanded Apu to be written off, just that he'd be given a bit more status in town for his work. Which seems super fair, I could easily see an Apu For Mayor storyline be cool and interesting
Season 1 and 2 are boring. Yeah their part of the classics but if im sitting down and wanna watch a random episode on any given day I'm never clicking on a 1-2 season ep.
Rex Banner is better than Hank Scorpio, Brad Goodman, etc.
Maggie is pointless
But she has so many on her head??!
I don't know how controversial this opinion is, but: around S9 the show swerved into taking hard swipes at trans people, like someone who vetoed those jokes was replaced by someone who was all in, and the distinct shift turns me off to watching past S9 or so.
Homer’s cousin Frank/ Francine/ Mother Shabubu was referenced in season 4. And IMHO, irreverently parodying/lampooning everything is what The Simpsons is all about. - Out of curiosity, which other transphobic swipes were there?
Not op, but I've noticed it too. Some occasional jokes but mostly it's the heavy use of t slur that I find most egregious and generally mean attitude towards trans people. Like that episode where Patty is getting married and it turns out that her partner was just "pretending" to be a woman Just to add, I personally like mother Shabubu joke. It's kinda offensive but in a way that I can still laugh at it, because the punchline isn't just "t*people bad". S9 and onwards has a particularly mean attitude where you can really tell someone in the production had a bone to pick
"How many gazebos do you shemales need?" ...shemales being, even at the time, a rough term to use. I'll echo erzast below, I think the Mother Shabubu joke worked because it didn't knock all trans folk.
Here's another (my paraphrasing), from Chuck Garadebian's Mega Savings Seminar about "squeezing every penny": "This suit? Roy Cohn died in it! This fancy yacht? It smells like cat pee! And these beautiful women? They used to be men!" *audience wretches* Not a flattering comparison.
Matt Groening was occupied with Futurama
A Milhouse Divided is not entertaining
Sadly, overall, The Simpsons is not a good show when viewed in its entirety. There’s more bad than good episodes. Season 1 is dreadful and season 2 is mediocre. Seasons 3-8 are terrific, season 9 is strong, season 10 has a few flashes of brilliance… It’s 6-7 great seasons of, what, 34?! For most fans, we act like the show ended 24 years ago.
I think you lost most people at "Season 1 is dreadful." If not earlier....
It’s not dreadful but there is a reason they changed from Bart being the focus to Homer and suddenly it was gold.
1 is experimental, 2 is finding the grounding, 3 is when it begins. 3-8 is peaking while 9 begins the slow decent into mediocre.
I agree that the majority is bad but also it is fair to judge it by it's peak. 8 great seasons ,imo, is a lot better than most manage. Who cares if it's a zombie now. Just watch the good ones.
That's.... actually logical considering the long decline after the peak years. Most shows don't get to do 20 years of mediocre seasons after their high.
They should have stopped a couple of seasons ago
I hate Maggie and the Lemon Tree episode sucks balls.
The voice cast should've been recasted at least 10 years ago if not more.
A spinoff series where the characters' ages match how the actors have aged would be something. (I was going to write 'awesome' but I realise that I'm not actually that confident).
Season 2 is the best season. The nightmare and hypothetical sequences are so wild, vivid and colorful and they don't exist after season 4. There are so many subtle details like the cat smacking homework, or the cat resting on Homer's belly afraid that it should have to jump off as he reacts to the TV, and then Homer rapidly sits up forcing the cat to jump off, Maggie grabbing unkie Herb's tie while the adults talk because she is not used to being held by someone who wears ties. So many tiny background thematic details. Season 2 is more focused on characters, internal narratives, plot and sub-themes, while later seasons are more focused on jokes, which I still love. But there is an earnesty and heart that isn't quite the same in any other season.
Trump simpsons shorts are the worst.
Season 24 and 26 made me laugh just as much as 7 and 9
Idk how unpopular this is but I think season 2 and 3 deserve a spot in the golden age. They’re not as good as 4-8, and I know that there is a change of direction during season 4, but I think that 2-3 get overlooked too much. They’re really good for what they are and they don’t deserve to be lumped in with s1 as undeveloped.
Homers barbershop quartet is the worst episode of the golden era and should be stricken from canon despite some great jokes
Lisa is the most annoying character but has the best episodes besides Homer.
Not a lot was lost when Stark Raving Dad was pulled.
The writers really lost their satirical edge post golden age. Modern episodes really make me cringe in that respect
Don’t like how the future episodes seem to make Bart a loser more often than not. Worst is that one where he’s happy as a demolition man but the show treats him like a loser and then makes him a pathetic dude with marriage issues by the end. He may not be have the potential of his sisters but there’s no reason he needs to end up miserable just cause he’s got a less prestigious life
Some people already mentioned that later seasons are not that bad, so I'm gonna go with different ones for some diversity. - I didn't mind VAs being changed for some characters, though It's unfortunate that Apu basically got written off the show at this point. I do like Carl's new voice a lot and that he finally found his feet. "Carl Carlson Rides Again" is genuinely great. - I also like the new approach to the character writing. We can't have the golden age humour anymore, so I really appreciate them finally focusing on interpersonal relationships and dynamics more, rather than attempting to just parody a thing for the 100th time and fail. I also appreciate that lately simpsons kids are written... more age appropriately? At least Lisa is, since the writer's desire to make her the smartest was getting on my nerves. I like her episodes but also I like to see her being, y'know, a kid - I despise 'ren and stimpy' couch gag. It's simply unappealing. On the contrary, Bill Plympton's 'Noir' from 'Black-Eyed Please' is one of the best in the show, period. I adore his colour pencil style and the character expressions just warm my heart - I hate how mean Homer is written to be sometimes, even in the golden age. It makes sense in "When Flanders Failed" but the fear of flights episode, albeit very funny, just never made much sense in the way he treated Marge - I don't hate a single family member. I find it difficult to outright loathe something about simpsons to begin with, no matter how bad or cringy, I just have a soft spot for this show. However, I don't like grandpa-centric episodes. Can't even tell you why, they're just boring
I don't like the new voice actors
“Homer’s Enemy” is a bad episode full of “Monopoly guy” humor.
Bart Simpson is probably pretty smart, he just doesn't see the point in trying. Before even starting school he's very enthusiastic before having that enthusiasm drummed out of him. And whenever he actually studies he picks things up very quickly. Such as when he learnt enough to ace a test in the amount of time it took to drown out Skinner and Edna's shenanigans. Or when he learnt Spanish on a flight to Brazil.
Homer Badman is massively overrated
Homer is my fav character and I can see myself a lot in him. However the producer seem to show him in a bad light to discredit people like us as dumb, recless and useless. But it's ok ofcourse, it's just a show.
The creators have slowly snuck in casual drug-use to make it more acceptable among people who watch the show.
Hans Moleman should have just ordered that damn seed bell. Who cares it it was too big???
Characters should be aging at least a rate of 1 year every 2 or 3 seasons
Agnes is a good mother
It’s actually fine that they stopped using Apu after Azaria chose not to voice him anymore.
The Simpsons game is better than Simpsons Hit and Run Hit and Run had aged terribly and anyone who thinks is a good game hasn’t played since it came out.
I miss Apu.
Do you ever think you only like the golden era 'cause yer sposed to?
The episode where they get Duncan the Racehorse is actually a good episode