Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 29, 2024, 10:45:23 AM

Login with username, password and session length

"Bring Back Barley" says NME guy...

Started by Spiteface, April 20, 2005, 01:20:35 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Emergency Lalla Ward Ten

Quote from: "hands cold, liver warm"looks like there will be a second series. An insider says that the series has already been given the go ahead

check p130 ITV teletext

apologies if this has been mentioned already

Teletext also reckoned they were bringing back Blackadder though. Which they're obviously not.

DJ One Record

Quote from: "23 Daves"That said, my wife hated it, felt it was badly written and edited, and she doesn't even read the ramblings of you lot because you're all "like the comic strip bloke off the Simpsons".

What, Radioactive Man?

Emergency Lalla Ward Ten

Quote from: "that blog"
Dan's integrity is shown to be a delusion in episode five when, in need of money, he accepts an assignment to wank off a guy for a feature article. Journalism as prostitution. I'm sure that those of us who've worked 'for hire' or taken commissions for projects we dislike, or frankly, done any work (other than that which we love) for money, can identify...

It becomes clear that Dan is a sort of fractal (self-similar) version of Nathan. He looks down at Nathan, but as we observe Dan from our perspective, he is the same. The implication being that if we were to pull back again, we would see that we are also the same as Dan ie the same as Nathan.

Reminds me of that MWE sketch about intelligent footballers:

- Talk us through that goal.
- My progress toward "goal" had an almost organic coherence - solipsistic you might say in its universality.
- Thanks very much, Vinnie Jones.

Little Hoover

Quote from: "DJ One Record"
Quote from: "23 Daves"That said, my wife hated it, felt it was badly written and edited, and she doesn't even read the ramblings of you lot because you're all "like the comic strip bloke off the Simpsons".

What, Radioactive Man?

Is that a joke? I can't tell
Because he mean's Comic Book Guy, in fact they recently had a joke where they revealed his name. Well I say joke...

Emergency Lalla Ward Ten

I'd say the difference between him and people on C&B is that we give reasons and arguments why things are rubbish, whereas he just says 'worst episode ever'.

Ironically, it was the Barley defenders who mostly spoke in CBG-speak. Except that they tended to say '*best* episode ever' and nothing else.

Is CBG supposed to be a comment on 'bitter' fanboys? Because it's always struck me as an incredibly bitter creation itself. A result of arrogant Simpsons writers who can't believe mere proles - on the internet of all places! - have the audacity to criticise something that's popular and successful.

TJ


DJ One Record

Quote from: "Little Hoover"Is that a joke? I can't tell

Just about.

Quote from: "Emergency Lalla Ward Ten"Is CBG supposed to be a comment on 'bitter' fanboys? Because it's always struck me as an incredibly bitter creation itself. A result of arrogant Simpsons writers who can't believe mere proles - on the internet of all places! - have the audacity to criticise something that's popular and successful.

I don't think CBG was originally conceived with that intention way back in "Three Men and a Comic Book" - as far as I can tell he didn't become a fanboy parody until "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" episode (Season 7).

alan strang

Quote from: "Emergency Lalla Ward Ten"Is CBG supposed to be a comment on 'bitter' fanboys? Because it's always struck me as an incredibly bitter creation itself. A result of arrogant Simpsons writers who can't believe mere proles - on the internet of all places! - have the audacity to criticise something that's popular and successful.

Wasn't the joke created by one specific Nev Fountain-esque Simpsons writer who got increasingly annoyed that the more recent shows (ie ones that he'd worked on himself) were being dissed? In other words, a panicky act of self-preservation from a writer who'd perhaps assumed he was boarding an unsinkable ship.

A familiar tale. After all, if you don't like the later Simpsons episodes then it's because you are the Comic Book Guy. For the nineties. Homer reacts. Well Futurama. Bleh.

Jon_Norton

I thought the message of the Slackboy posts, and the positive NB reviews in general, was: "If you really like Nathan Barley.... then you are him".

Emergency Lalla Ward Ten

The 'Poochie' episode features Lisa saying something like 'But Itchy and Scratchy have given you hours of entertainment for free - why do you have to criticise now?'

Because those previous episodes weren't written by...[consults TV Tome]...David X Cohen, presumably.

alan strang

Quote from: "Emergency Lalla Ward Ten"Because those previous episodes weren't written by...[consults TV Tome]...David X Cohen, presumably.

I don't think it was him.

Edit: There's a decent-enough potted history here

The Duck Man

Ian Maxtone Graham?

(Where's that Simpsons article that was on Not BBC, someone find it for me, I can't be arsed)

jutl

Quote from: "The Duck Man"Ian Maxtone Graham?

I always assumed he was the printer engineer, and they were just giving him a credit because he was such a nice guy.

23 Daves

Quote from: "Emergency Lalla Ward Ten"Is CBG supposed to be a comment on 'bitter' fanboys? Because it's always struck me as an incredibly bitter creation itself. A result of arrogant Simpsons writers who can't believe mere proles - on the internet of all places! - have the audacity to criticise something that's popular and successful.

I always read it as being a cheeky sideswipe rather than anything else.  It made me laugh, anyway - "I hated it so much I went straight online and warned everyone around the world about how bad it was".  How many of us have done that?  I certainly have... well, maybe not the whole world (most of the rest of the world doesn't give a shit about British comedy), but certainly the country.  It's pretty absurd behaviour at best.

In any case, it's my wife's accusation to me as well as you lot, I just toss it to one side as the piece of verbal fluff that it is.  

QuoteDaves - I have the greatest respect for you - particularly since you agreed with me over what a cunt Tom Paulin is. Still... that blog entry is close to being the most pathetic, meaningless, ersatz-intellectual rubbish I have ever read.

It is a little A-level Media Studies project in places, yes, but the central points it makes are ones I'd choose to agree with.  However, the bottom line is obviously whether NB was
a/ funny
and
b/ incisive and sharply observed
to the viewer.  In the vast majority of cases the answer is clearly "no", in my case I found it to be almost painfully on-the-money in a lot of places, and it did make me laugh out loud.  However, I've long accepted that I'm clearly in the minority.  Rather like "Attention Scum", I think I've got a long road ahead convincing anyone that the programme is any good, and I can't be arsed to walk it right now.  You'd have thought that the PR people at Channel 4 who kept invading this forum would have done a better job than "It's the Absolutely Fabulous for the noughties!!!!", mind you... they're paid to do it, I'm not...

And anyway, I quite liked that fractal paragraph in the blog.  Maybe I've been reading other people's blogs for too long, though.

jutl

Quote from: "23 Daves"Maybe I've been reading other people's blogs for too long, though.

Yeah - I wonder what material effect there would be to the quality of life on this planet if all bloggers just died... I don't imagine things would get any better - but would they be any worse at all?

23 Daves

Quote from: "jutl"
Quote from: "23 Daves"Maybe I've been reading other people's blogs for too long, though.

Yeah - I wonder what material effect there would be to the quality of life on this planet if all bloggers just died... I don't imagine things would get any better - but would they be any worse at all?

Well, you're talking to one... so clearly I'd be worse off.

I hate to keep saying this, but they're not all bad... there are a number of livejournals that are certainly no worse than the better posts on cookdandbombd, and some of them are fantastic.  You just have to sift through the crap first.  

Christ, I'm not going to spend this whole thread being on the defensive...

jutl

Quote from: "23 Daves"
Well, you're talking to one... so clearly I'd be worse off.

I hate to keep saying this, but they're not all bad... the vast majority of the better livejournals are certainly no worse than the better posts on cookdandbombd, and some of them are actually far better.  You just have to sift through the crap first.  

Christ, I'm not going to spend this whole thread being on the defensive...

Fair enough. It's the plonking way that blog entries just start... On here there's some sense of sequence. I'm a big fucking hypocrite actually because all the threads I start have all the negative features of blogs. I'm just in a hateful mood today.

Little Hoover

The thing about comic book guy is when you look at old alt.tv.simpsons an old newsgroup, you see people were basically making Jump the Shark and Worst episode ever comments from like season 2, its ridculous and most of the complaints are over such trivial things like continuity. and the criticisms were generally missing the point of the episodes, or just going on stupid rants without discussing actual flaws in the episode.
and the episode wasn't just a reaction to this but also inspired by fox trying to encourage the staff to add a new teenage character.

Now complaints thrown at the Simpsons are actually justified because the show did actually start rapidly declining in season 9. although started improving again slightly in season  13
If you look at the credits you see its because of who became "executive producer"  or  headwriters.
S1+2 It was James.L.Brooks.Sam Simon and Matt Groening (and they always have this credit, even though Sam Simon hasn't been involved since s4 there's a long boring legal story behind that )
S3+4 Al Jean+ Mike Reiss
S5+6 David Mirkin
S7+8 Bill Oakley + Josh Weinstein
S9-12 Mike Scully
S13-Today Al Jean

You can see details on some of these things at SNPP.com

Well I've just ousted myself as Simpsons nerd.

Darrell

Quote from: "The Duck Man"Ian Maxtone Graham?

That's the chap.

SimonJT

Quote from: "Little Hoover"...most of the complaints are over such trivial things like continuity

The thing is, when these continuity errors are pointed out, it's not usually with any malice, nobody's saying "I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!", it's mostly quite light-hearted, just another way of looking at the show. The writers do it themselves on the audio commentaries. Perhaps it's nerdy, but often when people have a go, they're missing the point.

Little Hoover

But Occasionly it is.

and The Itchy&Scratchy$Poochie Show Was written by David Cohen (S on simpsons, X on Futurama)
But you can't read too much into writing credits on Simpsons its often not a story pitched by the writer, and its so heavily re-written by the staff that its approxiamtley 30% of the orginal draft.
I think I already mentioned this when people were discussing Ricky Gervais' episode.

Godzilla Bankrolls

I can believe Ian Maxtone Graham coming up with that spin on Comic Book Guy, his episodes have tended to be pretty shoddy, and his attitude towards the show (and TV and comedy itself) is despicable.

David X Cohen on the other hand... Well, he's sort of the anti-Groening. Involved with Futurama on every level, he cares deeply about the show and his presence on DVD commentaries should be compulsory.

Squidy

To remember The Simpsons in happier times, read this first draft of Treehouse Of Horror VI, today celebrating its tenth anniversary.

Darrell

Quote from: "Squidy"To remember The Simpsons in happier times, read this first draft of Treehouse Of Horror VI, today celebrating its tenth anniversary.

Beautiful.

Bloody hell! A SOTCAA update!  Marvellous!

Godzilla Bankrolls

Excellent! I sort of knew that The Friday Update was doomed from the start.

slim

Oooh, thanks for that.

But does this

Quote from: "Notoriously Aggro About Copyright FOX"This script is not for publication or reproduction.
not worry you at all?

Rats

I always thought comic book guy was matt groening. A jovial ribbing what?

Sadness

Anyway.....A Nathan Barley DVD eh....?



S.

23 Daves

jutl, that blog fella has responded to your criticisms.  Maybe you should go and have a read.