I think the end of season 7: Homerpalooza Summer of 4'2" (Yeeesh!)
Season 8 was even worse: The Mysterious Voyage of Our Homer Simpsoncalifragilisticexpiala(Annoyed Grunt)cious Homer's Enemy Simpsons Spin-off Showcase (Yuck!)
Season 9 stinkers: All Singing, All dancing (Is this really the only bad episode in season 9?)
Season 10 Shitfests: When You Dish Upon a Star D'oh-in In TheWind I'm With Cupid Mom And Pop Art Thirty Minutes Over Tokyo (Holy jumpin' Jebus this really is the living end)
Nearly everything after this is pretty terrible I reckon.
"Uriens" wrote in message news:botosp$2q6$[email]...
I beg to differ, I thought Simpsoncalifrag..... was absolutely brilliant parody, which it one of the hardest kinds of humor to pull off successfully. I never laughed to hard at Groundskeeper Willy & the Flashdance routine.
as for the rest....some so-so, others pretty much blew.
On Wed, 12 Nov 2003 13:08:28 -0600, "BrewMaster" wrote:
I totally agree. 3G03 is one of the highlights of the later seasons.
To answer the original poster's question, in my opinion, it all basically started as early as on the 5th season, with the 1F episodes. Retrospectively, the change in Homer's character and in the general style of the show was actually very small, but it was definitely there and easy to spot when they were aired the first time. The show wasn't destroyed or anything, but the foundation for what took place 4 years later was nevertheless laid.
Note that I'm not saying that only the first four seasons were great, 5-8 were--in general--very good too. What happened was that while most of the episodes and gags in seasons 5-8 were still good stuff, there were gradually more and more not-so-good gags, bad characterization (Homer) and episodes (plots) among the good ones (vs. the preceeding seasons where every episode was more or less flawless). While the overall quality was still great, the seasons and episodes became uneven.
However, the really big fall took place in the 9th season, when basically everything went to hell. Homer lost the last lingering thread of sanity. The following few seasons were very painful, but I think recently the show has become better again. Homer is behaving a bit more like a human being again, which also makes him a more believable character. While many plots may still be far-fetched, the way the issues are dealt with is more realistic and down-to-earth. There's still a lot to do, but at least the downfall has ended.
Jon Bonn� of MSNBC has summed up some of the changes quite nicely: http://www.msnbc.com/news/988733.asp
I agree with you entirely, except for Homer's Enemy, which was one of the great Simpsons classics. Give it another chance...... sit down and force yourself to watch six or seven Season 10-13 eps (with matchsticks to prop open your eyelids if necessary) then watch Grimey's adventures again. I assure you, the ep won't seem anywhere near as bad the next time.
Are you fucking ill? Homer's Enemy is the worst episode of all time. It is badly-conceived and without humour, unless you enjoy electrocuting down-trodden characters and then laughing at their expense. If you find this humourous, then I'll be the first one to laugh and piss on your grave.
You've obviously missed the whole point of the episode - Grimes was, and had always been, an unlucky, tragic and pitiful figure - not unlike many of the other characters living in Springfield. Have you watched many episodes of the Simpsons? If not then I should tell you that the humour in the show is dark, wickedly satirical and often controversial. It dares to touch on situations and themes other shows don't. That's why we like it. Does it annoy you the same way when viewers laugh at Moe for being ugly and lonely, or when Hans Moleman is run off the road one week and then is accidentally sent to the electric chair the next? Is it wrong to laugh when Sideshow Bob is jailed for something his brother did? No, of course not.
If you're unable to appreciate the many facets of Simpsons humour then it's probably better you stayed quiet in Simpsons newsgroups instead of hurling random insults at people who *do* understand the humour.
Shut the fuck up, you piece of shit. I've been watching the show since the 4th episode of season 1. The Simpsons occasionally has some twisted humour, but rarely do characters get killed, and killing off a character as sad as Grimes was in ill taste. So fuck you, fuck your family, fuck your whole country, and leave the commentary to Americans.
If history has taught us anything (and it hasn't), it's that "Homer's Enemy" has a very polarizing effect. There's no middle ground... you either love it or despise it.
Oh, I agree with this guy. And he didn't even have to swear and be abusive! You know you are on Usenet, right? Didn't you read the contract? You are missing the required invectives.
Seriously, though, here is my thinking about Homer's Enemy (*grits for abuse*):
It was clearly intended to be self-referencing, to point out that the Simpson's lives are a bit rediculous. Everything on television is better, more expensive and larger than it would really be. The prime example being Friends massive NYC apartment (paid for by a waitress and a cook). Grimes wanders into the economic marvel of the Simpsons... a two-car, three child household with a single, blue-collar income. And here the writers push the contrast to extremes, making Grimes more upstanding yet downtrodden, and Homer more oafish yet successful.
Which makes, I thought, for a fairly entertaining episode.
However... it also pushes Homer out of character. Or, perhaps, wildly exagerates Homer. I tend to prefer sticking to character, other people demand it, and get personally offended when they feel their favourites jump out of character.
At least here, the writers were fiddling with character to make a point: our TV heros and friends don't live in reality, but a convenient version of reality... and more specifically: Homer, our lovable loser, is actually unnaturally successful. Perhaps a point that didn't need to be made, but it was one that could be mined for humour. In so many later episodes, Homer is a self-parody without an excuse. Though often funny, it does end up weakening his character, and the series.
Sorry, one of those typos/spelling mistakes I always make. I also always type "devide" even though I know it is "divide". Stupid North America, and our stupid poorly differentiated vowels. Well, except maybe Texans, and they have different issues.
When did the rot set in? Deep Space Homer, season 5 was the first sign of it. A completely unfunny episode with no redeeming value of any kind, created solely to allow some astronauts to appear as guest voices.
"donutbandit" wrote in message news:bp18vs$6ue$[email]...
Come on. I can think of two hilarious lines from that. The "default" line and Ground Control trying to shoo James Taylor away with "Now's not the time for your mellow brand of bittersweet folk-rock!"
Mega Loopy, the Pudgy Luchador Archbishop of Chicanery
No, you're thinking of an episode from season 10, 11, 12, or 13.
The episode was masterfully conceived. It's a perfect example of black humor.
You completely missed the point. Frank Grimes killed himself via his jealousy and inability to accept that "undeserving" people sometimes get really good things. That's the way the world works.
Of course dimwits like you won't find the episode funny. You have no understanding of black humor.
Yeh...there are some duds along the way...but so what? Can everyone please let go of the "it's cool to like the old Simpson's" crap, please? If something is funny...it's just FUNNY..I don't care what year, who made it, what is considered hip to watch, etc. An example of this; Season 14. "Brake My Wife, Please". At the aquarium, Bart mooning the class from inside of the clam, Bart then getting beat up by the aquarium creatures, the scene with Dr. Hibert...Homer telling his story about going to the video store and alternating watching the movies "The Monkey is spelling things" and laughing to watching the southern woman "I fear I've become a buttercup of winter" and then Homer alternately crying, the musical piece with Steve Buscemi, etc. Man, if you can't find that funny...lighten up... or watch Crime Scene Investigation or something...