Simpson's Legacy on Futurama and Fox's Cartoon Scheduling

After seeing the first three episodes of Futurama, and then reading several posts on this newsgroup, I've got to ask the following question: How much of Futurama's popularity is due to the Simpsons?

I know there are many, many people out there who are Simpsons fanatics, and I have a feeling that regardless of how Futurama turned out, they would support it, if for no other reason than it comes from Matt Groening. I've seen the first three episodes, and while I find the show to be somewhat entertaining, I can't help but be a little disappointed with it so far. I'll admit the background and storylines have been solid, but in my opinion, the show just isn't that funny, and that's the main reason I watch a sitcom...to laugh. Maybe I'm expecting too much of it for the same reason I suspect others are embracing it (ie, its link to the Simpsons).

For what it's worth, this is not meant to put the show down. I have every intention of watching the show for the forseeable future. I definitely agree that the move of the show to Tuesdays was premature. No matter how popular a show is, time slot shuffling can be a killer.

I also think debuting Futurama and Family Guy at essentially the same time was a horrible move on Fox's part. I know I'm in the minority here when I tell you that I think Family Guy is an absolutely hilarious show, but that is not the point. The Simpsons and South Park notwithstanding, prime time cartoons are still a relatively risky venture and to release two new ones at the same time could almost be considered saturating the market, especially when they are on the same network. I believe there is more than enough space for both shows in the long run, but it probably would have been wiser for Fox to wait at least a month between their debuts (and I wouldn't say the Super Bowl Family Guy counts as a debut).

Just my simple thoughts.

Justin

I agree in almost every point you've made here. I too find that Futurama hasn't been tugging at my funny bone as much as I thought it would. I am hoping that the characters will grow on me as I am very much a Simpsons fan. I'm giving it time and almost nurturing it. Family Guy however had me rolling on the floor within minutes of its debut. I think the show is great - I was a large The Critic fan, and its humour styling is very similar. I think that a lot of the die hard fans kinda shut themselves off in enjoying other shows. Despite being a huge fan of the Simpsons, I watch a show to enjoy myself. There are moments in South Park I enjoy, in Futurama, The Family Guy, and even King of the Hill (occasionally). I am a large animation fan and have much respect for the medium, trying not to show any biases before really tasting the pudding. I hope Futurama succeeds in winning me over (as well as all of the nielsens), but I personally don't see it being a runaway hit. I think at the center of the Simpsons rise to fame was the catch phrases of Bart that allowed it to break into the masses. I am not a fan of catchphrases and trends BUT I do think they were a large part of allowing Joe Shmoe to discover the Simpsons. I just don't see any of the characters in Futurama making an immediate impact on pop-culture (which might be good, but not for the ratings). Perhaps Bender with a bit of work. The main protagonist I find a bit too annoying -- in a bad sense, unlike Homer whose stupidity is endearing. I find the use of Katie Segal's (is that how it's spelled) voice a bit distracting as I relate it too much to Peggy Bundy; which is hard not to do as the show was on for so long. The voice talents altogether I find kind of lacking. I joined this newsgroup mostly to perhaps "learn" to enjoy the show because, as I said before, I am very loyal to the Simpsons and thus Groening.

The Family Guy is a different story. It throws more references than MST3K (maybe, haven't counted :) which I enjoy. It has 3 characters which I find instantly charming -- especially the baby (the father and the dog are the others). I think the sheer likability of the child will push it on. It does seem to be a culmination of many characters from other shows and such (Pinky and the Brain for the baby) but hell, it's kinda shameless about it, just as it throws all of the pop-culture references. I find that refreshing -- steal from the good stuff if you're gonna steal. Life is all about recycling now that originality is dead.

I for one would rather watch a show that references MC Escher and La Voyage Dans La Lune than CHiPs and (the already done to death) ST-TOS. Doing lame parodies of tacky TV shows is about the easiest assignment you can give a comedy writer, and I would've hoped that more people would understand that.

When OFF have a Jasper Johns guest spot, and that is immediately followed by a show where the references never rise above the most obvious and hackneyed, I find it almost impossible to believe that the perceived audience is the same.

I think Futurama shows tremendous promise, simply because it (so far) hardly ever stoops to the LCD-type of stuff that even OFF will sometimes do. Then again, that could be its undoing, since intelligence, erudition and wit get short shrift on American TV. Frankly I'm surprised that the Simpsons has lasted as long as it has.

CountV

I think that Family Guy not only LOOKS terrible (visual presentation) but IS terrible too.

It comes down to personal tastes, and my tastes are more geared towards Futurama. The show has the type of *classic timeless wit* (including biting social commentary) that was employed by the likes of Samuel Goldsmith, Henry Feilding and Jonathan (sp?) Swift. Futurama endeavors to make us laugh though more than Swift ever did :) and the show LOOKS great. The animation is terrific and I like the use of computer generated graphics for 3d objects (who ever is doing the compositing is doing a great job). I love the production values in Futurama.

Anyway, Fox has indeed saturated the prime-time animation genre and pushed Futurama out of the nest too soon (the nest being a post-Simpsons time slot). Tuesday night time slots blow goats and it's a shame to do such a thing to a show in it's thrid episode. I think however that Futurama has a better chance of making it on it's own than Family Guy and maybe that's why it was done this way. Personally, I'd have spread out the premier of these two series out over the next several months (Futurama in mid-season and Family Guy next season) and given each a good length of time beihind the Simpsons.

Now, I'll troll a little here and say that the evil baby genius thing is soooo 1 dimensional as to make me want to wretch. That character will be a tough one to develop over time, as will the rest of them. Those characters are too much in the way of "characters" and too little in the way as personalities (which can drive a show for 10 seasons like the Simpsons). I can't see any character evolution ever happening.

Perhaps I am being a bit harsh on the Family Guy and should give it a chance, but I prolly won't. I know what I like and the Future(ama) is here, even if it on Tuesdays...

Daniel Kapusta wrote in message ...

I'll agree, it's just not funny. Two shows (the special and series premiere) and two references to Hitler? I'm for some types of offending comedy (i.e. South Park's Cartman) But there was no meaning to this, thus NOT FUNNY! True, South Park's Cartman was dressed as Hitler, but what was funny about it was the reactions by the townspeople. A cut scene of some weak-Hitler looking at a buffed up-Rabbi really wasn't that funny.

Well... now I'll disagree. The evil baby genius thing is good. The question I have is do the parents know the kid is talking like that? Then again, what's with the talking dog? I keep thinking about Married with Children when the dog started "thinking aloud"... which was just as dumb.

I might give it a chance, however they should move it to another time slot where there is nothing on TV (reruns of Wheel of Fortune)

I agree. Futurama is not as funny as the simpsons. Me and my brother (Fester) were discussing this only a few days ago. I said that futurama was no all laugh out loud funny (Like the simpsons) but it has suddle humor. The simpsons are a hit but they pushed there luck in to the shallow end with futurama. I don't expect futurama to last as long as the simpsons mabey if they are very lucky to their 100th episode. Sometimes it is worth a little chuckle but very seldom. I do not dislike Futurama, but I can't say it is my favorite show. Most people like it because of the futuristic characters and the wacky ideas for devices in the future. but the truth is it isn't very funny. I can't help but say I expected better.