Boy, Are You Guys Demanding!

I regularly read three TV sitcom newsgroups and have come to the following conclusions:

--The SIMPSONS newsgroup fans are the most obsessed. One guy even used a decoder to find out the phone number that Homer dialed when he called a factory in Japan.

--The FRASIER newsgroup fans are the most polite, and love everything about every show.

--The SEINFELD newsgroup fans are, BY FAR, the hardest to please. Even the best episodes get their share of negative posts.

I'm not sure what point I'm trying to make here, except maybe to just relax and enjoy the episodes. It seems like the same people who were saying negative things about Season 7 eps write laudatory posts about these same eps now that they are in syndication (are you listing, Justin?). :-)

Having read all of these newsgroups at one time or another, I agree more or less with your assumptions. I see a similarity between the Simpsons and Seinfeld newsgroups, in that both have generally been rather negative on the recent season. There was also a "writers must read this newsgroup" thread going in the Simpsons, after the "I was on the internet to express my displeasure" episode. Okay, both shows have trouble making an overall great episode this season, but they're both far and above most of the stuff on TV and will still be popular long after Family Matters et al have disappeared into the video void.

And on Frasier: They may be more polite, but they also have a much smaller amount of posts.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled newsgroup.

In article , [email] says...

I generally disagree with the notion of writers using Usenet as a source for their material. However, it would not surprise me if TV writers were *aware* that a NG exists for their show. It would not surprise me if TV writers were aware or even read a few messages _on one or two occasions_ to discern that there is a healthy amount of negative commentary regarding their work. But, to infer from this, if it happened, that it happens regularly is a leap, in my opinion.

I think this point strikes home with "The Wait Out" that aired in syndication recently. For those who don't know the plot, Jerry and Elaine try to wait out a marriage which is on the rocks so they can snatch up the couple for themselves, and Kramer buys a pair of really tight jeans. I happened to like the episode (I usually like all episodes of Seinfeld, but I tend to criticize the show when it doesn't live up to its full potential), but to me it seemed the writing was poor - and this was an episode from when Larry David was involved with the show, for those who think that his leaving the show affected the writing. The biggest example of poor writing was Kramer with his jeans. If his jeans were too tight, why didn't he just tell people they were too tight when they wanted him to sit down (Mickey and the cop at the end), instead of having him clumsily try to sit in a chair. Sure, it's a funnier situation, but it was also ridiculous. And why couldn't either of them tell he had trouble sitting down - their reactions made it seem like he was outright defying them. The scenes with Jerry, George, and Elaine also seemed to be lacking. If someone agrees with me about this episode, please let me know.