I can't help but feel that there must be a rule that an animated series must include a dweeb like Neil's father. His goofy Woody-Allen-like behavior is as annoying as the Jerry-Lewis-like character of the Professor on the Simpsons.
The over all intelligence of both these shows is diminished when they go for cheap humor like a guy with no social skills and a speech impediment. I hope they use this character sparingly. The Evil Monkey is a funnier bit.
The answer to your question is located in aisle 4 with the creams.
ohh I don't like that word
;-)
Argyle wrote:
To be honest, I like Professor John Frink from "The Simpsons." He's goofy, and his lines about "oh, the hurting!" make me laugh.
Neil (Neil's father?), on the other hand, just makes me think that the creators/writers of FG ripped off the Simpsons. Josh
"Argyle" wrote in message news:5pHW7.36510$[email]...
must
is
for
bit.
I can't stand Frink or Mort Goldman (Neil's dad!). Frink is the ONLY character on the Simpsons that I've never found funny for some reason. Same with Mort, he's just irritating, I'm glad they've kept him down to just brief appearances, he was threatening to become a regular character a while back.
You mean you didn't like "Oh God! She farted and it went down my throat!" :-)
-=- Tom
[mail can be sent to me directly at tadressel at aol dot com]
:-)
Actually, that is EXACTLY the kind of stuff I don't care for. It ain't witty, it isn't satirical, it's a cheap shot. Things are in trouble when a script resorts to toilet humor. "Sherry and the Anus" was funny because it was a parody of a bad sitcom that some executive would prolly put on the air. The ass jokes weren't meant to be funny on their own, they were funny because the writers were pointing out how silly the concept was. We have already seen how nerd begets nerd with Milhouse and his dad on the Simpsons. Mort is not fresh, not funny and won't be funny no matter how much canine gas he inhales. And anyone who says he is funny is a BIG FAT PHONY! That's right, a big fat phony lives here!
On Thu, 27 Dec 2001 15:48:17 GMT, "Argyle" wrote:
I am sorry to inform you that you are mistaken. ;)
Mort isn't your regular Woody Allen character. The stuff he says goes far beyond what Allen would say, even thought it is delivered in a similar style.
I like the Family Guy because the writers don't seem to be concerned about the intelligence level of the jokes. I find a wide range of humor funny including the dumb jokes and gags. The raccoon attacking Peter continually in To Live and Die in Dixie Land was funny. Even though, it was unrealistic that Lois was unaware of the raccoon in her shirt.
Mort has the outward appearance of being a goofy germ-a-phobe like Allen, but then takes the lack of social skills to the next level. Who else would check if it really smelled like cookies? In what other style could you describe someone's stinky little balloons? Who else could be scared in the ear by a pirate when he was five and again when he was thirty?
Now, I would agree that it would be hard to pull off an episode of entirely the Goldmans and that the character shouldn't be overused.
On the note of Professor Frink, his cutesy style is the way the the Simpsons introduce their characters. Dr. Hibbert, Mayor Quimby, Mrs. Lovejoy. These are all stereotypical characters. What other style would the professor be played in? Should they have used Sagan? Hawking? Also, they've developed his character fairly well, with his times in college and the first computer dating machine, etc. These were funny. bits. Or the autodialer that he invented... Hehe, funny times.
I've come to the realization lately that the reason the Simpsons are sucking more and more as time goes on is that they are trying to be funny like the Family Guy is funny, but that isn't their history. It's been very important for the Simpsons to maintain continuity (with the exception of halloween) and keep a realistic aspect. (The kids don't age, but no one can fall from an airplane and survive.) That is something the Family Guy has outright rejected for the sake of a lot of funny jokes. (Jabba the Griffin for example.) So, as the Simpsons move more towards the Family Guy style of cartoon, they alienate their viewers. It's not what we have been conditioned to expect.
Perhaps it was a mistake on Groening's part to place those restrictions on the show. We've come to expect those restrictions from the Simpsons, where the Family Guy has ignored those from the outset. The Family Guy has given themselves a much broader playing field with being able to use the ridiculous humor along with highbrow stuff. I thoroughly enjoy both types. ("Parsley, sage, rosemary, and Lowery's seasoning salt.")
On another note, it's the straying from your roots that made Star Trek: Voyager so bad. The writers on Voyager seemed to not comprehend that Trekkies keep meticulous track of the Star Trek universe and that when they break history it pisses them off. I think those writers should be dragged out into the street and shot like dogs. Grrr. (Making the Borg known to the Federation 10 years before Q introduced them...)
Well, long post and not quite all about Neil's father. In conclusion, Family Guy has setup the playing field to do whatever they feel like. Their is a wide range of humor and while not everyone agrees on what's funny, I don't think it ruins it in any way to have a style that one doesn't find funny. Would you stop watching the show altogether if someone slipped on a banana peel?
Bradley "That's why I have this frying pan antidote."
The raccoon was funny, especially by the third time as it was established as a running gag. I really did not set out to go down the Simpsons vs. FG road. I don't care for Mort or Frink and for some reason one reminds me of the other. Neil is funny in small doses (the retainer gag makes me laugh) but his family makes my skin crawl. (Not in that 'I-Love-How-He-Makes-Me-Cringe' way, but rather in that 'I-am-in-my-fourth-day-of-no-heroin' way.) A banana peel gag is funny, as long as the person slipping doesn't end up in a big pile of pooh. I reiterate, toilet humor is an easy out. (The raccoon gag:funny. The outhouse gag where Peter gets feces in his raccoon wounds:just gross and dumb.) I am not saying the show should only do high-brow humor. The Evil Monkey is funny, even though a rational person would realize that the monkey would have to be cared for and eat (which could lead up to the banana peel gag.) But the show is at it best when it does satire and parody. Oh yeah, gay and racist humor too. ("Tom, I just plain don't like black people." "Hey, we are still on in Boston!") The one exception to my distaste for toilet humor: Masturbation jokes. Can't get enough! (Lois: "Chris, get out of there right now!" Chris: "I can't." Lois: "OK, finish up and then get out.")
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, but Brad, I just plain don't like Mort.
"Bradley" wrote in message news:[email]...
Bradley wrote:
Wow. Somebody had cogently tied into one thread why _Family Guy_ is going uphill, why _The Simpsons_ are going downhill (and using Frink as an analogy!), and how _Voyager_ lost its way. VERY well done.
(Hate to bring it up on this ng, buuuuut... I've seen every episode of _Voyager_, and I'm not sure what you're referring to about the Federation knowing about the Borg prematurely. I've never been one to let Braga and co.'s indifference to the 35-year story arc get in the way of enjoying an otherwise well-produced and well-acted show, but that does sound odd.)
-- wb
Is he referring to Seven of Nine's parents studying the Borg? If one is going to be that picky one shouldn't watch Enterprise. Not just because of the inconsistencies but also because it will put you to sleep and you may sleep all the way through to 9 pm on Thursday and miss Family Guy.
"Warren Bloom" wrote in message news:[email]...
*** Warning: *** This post is completely off-topic for this newsgroup. *** If you are not interesting in someone bitching about Star Trek *** Then read no further!
On Mon, 31 Dec 2001 04:42:11 GMT, "barkbarkwoof" wrote:
*** Second Warning: *** This post is completely off-topic for this newsgroup.
Yes, I am referring to Seven's parents. How old do they claim Seven is? 22? She was 5 when her parents went off to study the Borg with the knowledge of the Federation, but an extremely well read captain of the Federation's flagship has no knowledge whatsoever of the Borg when Q introduces them. Only Guinan knows as she's hundreds of years old and has traveled far and wide.
Another episode of Voyager that pissed me off is the one where Tuvok and Neelix are conjoined (mixed?) by the transporter. After many, many weeks Janeway goes over the Doctor's head in forcibly separating them, so that she can have her good friend back. She should have been court-martialed for that. That was horribly unethical. Captain Picard would have been horrified. She had no right to make that decision. That should have been Tuvok/Neelix's choice. It's not like they would have never even existed like the Defiant's descendants on that episode of DS9 where they crash twice on a planet, but once back in time. And in that case, they made the decision to stay so that those people could continue to exist.
Also, with the ending, wouldn't those time police from the <mumble> century undo Janeway's meddling and charge her with a crime? I doubt their directives would allow them to do favors to people (i.e., the crew of Voyager).
It also pisses me off how they neutered the Borg so that Janeway can defeat them time and time again. She can't hear their song can she? Perhaps, with the Borg queen, that should be spayed...
Now to Enterprise. When Scotty was on the Enterprise D he goes on the holodeck to see his old ship. The computer says there were five ships with that designation. 1701, 1701-A, 1701-B, 1701-C, 1701-D. We've seen all five ships. But now this starship is also named Enterprise? Now you might argue that this is an NX, not NCC, but the Excelsior was also an NX ship and they don't refer to it differently in Star Trek III. Quite suspicious. I don't think they should have used the name Enterprise. Perhaps Challenger would have been more fitting. I guess we'll see how this series pans-out.
Also, regarding falling asleep during Enterprise, the Vulcan's tits can keep me awake. They apparently have a new regulation that every ship must have someone with big tits in skin-tight velour, but who am I to argue. :) Also, isn't the distaste for a smell that Vulcans have an emotion? I wouldn't think a freakin' Vulcan would need a "nasal inhibitor" or whatever they call it...
On a funny note, I didn't realize that T'Pol was the big-titted cast member right away. It just fit in my mind that Vulcan's would wear something simple and logical. The cat suit allows her to be nimble, right? Then it suddenly hit me that the Vulcan was Seven's counterpart... I also haven't checked, but I bet she wears high-heels, which would not be logical. Grr
Bradley "When I freeze-frame you can clearly see Lubins' coffee cup sitting on that rock."
Uh-oh, I've demonstrated my nerdiness. Now someone can post a follow-up that says: "Thank you Neil, for that incredibly irrelevant presentation. We all know that Captain Picard is the superior officer." -- 308 - Kiss Seen Around the World
"Thank you Neil, for that incredibly irrelevant presentation. We all know that Captain Picard is the superior officer."
Sanjay
"Bradley" wrote in message news:[email]...
going
Federation
and
an
of
Sorry for being off-topic, but I'm with you on how CRAPPED UP Star Trek got once Voyager and now Enterprise hit the air.
Here's a post I placed in another newsgroup months back discussing the new show Enterprise. You might find it interesting.... -----------------------
From: DON3k ([email]) Subject: Call me a Trekkie, but..... Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv.mst3k.misc Date: 2001-10-02 13:37:01 PST
This is my *main* complaint about the new Star Trek: Enterprise Take a look at the two images below:
Akira Class (Next Generation Era - Commissioned in 2365) http://www.shiporama.org/images/akira/akira_top.jpg
This ship was in 3 Voyager episodes, 10 DS9 Episodes, and in the Next Gen movie First Contact. It's also featured in a few of the latest ST PC games.
Enterprise NX-01 (Commissioned in 2151 - 214 years older!) http://www.stinsv.com/ENt/640ship/entnx01.jpg
Talk about a total cop-out on designing a new ship! So, they would have us believe that the 1st ever federation flag ship, called Enterprise, was never listed before in any of the other Enterprise's "hall of Enterprises" displays, and that it was more high-tech in design that the original series Enterprise, which was built 91 years after this one, or almost any other Federation ship until the Next Gen era ... Yeah..
An interesting note: I went to the official Star Trek page ( http://www.startrek.com/library/ships.asp ), and what do you know, the Akira class ships are no longer listed! I then looked up the four ships known by name that are Akira ships and what do you know, they're not listed either! (USS Akira NCC-62497,USS Rabin NCC-63293, USS Spector NCC- (Unknown),USS Thunderchild NCC-63549) So, I guess they no longer exists! I can see that there's a lot of Trek history that's going to go right out the window as the new show progresses!
If anything, it should have looked something like this:
Daedalus Class (Prototype commissioned around 2160 - about 10 years NEWER than the new NX-01 Enterprise!) http://free.prohosting.com/~saleck/pics/daedalus18.jpg
I guess an accurately done ship wouldn't have been "cool" looking, so Crap on that! Just pick a Next Generation ship and rename it. Oh, and wipe out any references to those Akira ships....
Talk about continuity errors and revisionist Trek history! You would think they would crack open a few of those official books they've been selling for about the last 20 years. Hell, I'd loan them a few of the ones I own if I thought it would help! The ship as seen in the new show Enterprise is completely out of whack with ST history and known ship design timeline! Why is this my main complaint? Well, if they don't even make the show jive from day one with established Trek history, then who cares what happens each week! None of that need jive either! Hell, maybe this whole show takes place in an alternate timeline. Why not! I wouldn't be surprised if in the last episode we see the Captian enter his quarters, hear the shower running, and open the curtins to find Bobby Ewing taking a shower!
--- DON3k ----------------------------------- MST3k - Picture This Quote! - MST3k http://www.picturethisquote.com -----------------------------------