Harry Shearer on the show's quality

In case this hasn't been posted yet... Harry Shearer on the show's quality:

"It depends on the script," he says, sounding at first like a man trying his best to be diplomatic. "There are writers' names that, when I see them on a script, I get very happy and look forward to the week, because I know there's gonna be a pretty sound script that is satirical but smart and not just sort of pointlessly parodic, if I may. And there are other writers' names that make my heart sink. It's sort of unavoidable this far along that that's going to be the way it is."

Though he never comes out and says it--It's time to kill The Simpsons--Shearer does say there have been many times when he and the other cast members have had to castigate writers for being too careless with the characters. He mentions one episode in particular: "The Principal and the Pauper," which aired in September 1997. Writer Ken Keeler handed over a script in which Principal Skinner (voiced by Shearer) is revealed to be, in fact, a former "no-good street punk" named Armin Tamzarian--a little plot point that negates seven years' worth of back story. When Shearer saw the story, he was quite unhappy. And unable to do a damned thing about it.

"I said, "That's so wrong. You're taking something that an audience has built eight years or nine years of investment in and just tossed it in the trash can for no good reason, for a story we've done before with other characters. It's so arbitrary and gratuitous, and it's disrespectful to the audience,'" he recalls. "Then it was, "OK, action.'" He laughs. "Really."

http://www.newtimesla.com/issues/2001-04-26/stuff.html

Thanks to Chris Courtois for the link!

Harry�s right. There are too many writers today who have no idea how to write for the show but do it nevertheless. I�m not saying the name Swarztwelder now.

It�s good to hear that other cast members care for the characters and don�t like what some of the new writers have done to the show. Let�s hope Al Jean is among those people and he�ll change something.

He wasn�t the only person who was "quite unhappy" (to say it polite) about the episode. It was when the show started a new stage of decline and spitting on the former seasons.

Damn right.

It�s good to hear that long-time cast members disagree with such things. The only thing I hope is that Al Jean will understand.

Chris

=v= How does that add up to "it's time to kill _The_Simpsons_?"

                                                            (****)
=v= And you'd better not.  John S. has written many       (*******)
of my favoite episodes, and continues to do so.         (*********)
    <_Jym_>                                            (*********)
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  /|   \                                             (*********)
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+::| . .   \: Jym Dyer http://www.things.org/~jym/ :(o)(o)(*)::

OOOOOO

He has written some good episodes and there are even a couple of really good ones among them (Homer at the Bat, Itchy & Scratchy The Movie and some others) but what he heck is he doing today?

Personally (and just personally) I don�t like many of his recent episodes ("The Cartridge Family" was maybe his last really good episode.) They are too flat and only joke-oriented and the real Simpsons spirit is somehow missing. I liked "Hungry Hungry Homer" but I hated the Alligator crap and in this case I�m certainly not the only one.

It would be interesting to know what writers Harry Shearer really meant? Who is a really weak writer in these days?

Chris

=v= Area code humor. Sure, it ain't Earl Warren as a male stripper, but I did laugh out loud at it.

=v= I wish Matt Groening would write some more of 'em. I don't really like country music, but he made me love "Colonel Homer." Quite a feat!!!

=v= And can somebody get Matt Selman to write more
than one episode a season?                               .-.
    <_Jym_>                                             /  /
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"Jym Dyer" wrote in message news:[email]...

Hell no.

I find it interesting that he confirms that the individual writers do have a significant influence on the episodes they get credit for, even though each script is influenced by every writer.

Jouni Paakkinen wrote:

I actually liked that Skinner/Tamzarian episode. I felt the way it was written you weren't _supposed_ to take it very seriously, it was like a parody of a cliched Hollywood plot. The best part was at the end when the Judge restores everything to "normal" and prohibits anyone from ever mentioning the incident again. It was a pretty good in-joke like the writers were winking at the audience, saying "it was all in good fun."