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The Simpsons: A Journey Through Shit

Started by JamesTC, January 08, 2021, 11:12:10 PM

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Total Members Voted: 28

Voting closed: December 24, 2021, 08:55:16 AM

JamesTC

Last year I re-watched all of The Simpsons that I had on DVD and made it through to the movie. I now have Disney+ so will be watching the next 13 seasons. I thought I would start a thread to document my descent into madness.

Season 19 - Episode 1 - He Loves to Fly and He D'ohs

Homer saves Mr Burns from drowning so as a reward Mr Burns takes him for a meal on his private plane. Homer becomes obsessed with private planes.

The entire conceit of the episode is that Homer wants to ride a private plane again so has to get life coaching to improve his life and then he realises he is really confident when he wears bowling shoes. I know they are probably short of ideas after 19 years but this is painfully weak.

You have Stephen Colbert providing a voice for a character who has absolutely no scripted jokes. I'm serious, they have hired a comedian and given him loads of dialogue but not a single actual joke or even vaguely funny line.

The episode ends with Homer flying a private plane when the pilot gets sick.

It may be unfair to compare to earlier episodes but I watched my favourite episode earlier today (Mr Plow) and epsidoes back then were so dense with ideas and plot. This was just woeful in direct comparison.

3/10 - As bad as it was, it had enough jerk ass Homer to give it a few funny bits and raise it above the very worst even if they were generic gags.

DrGreggles

Quote from: JamesTC on January 08, 2021, 11:12:10 PM
I watched my favourite episode earlier today (Mr Plow)

There's a strong argument for that being the best episode ever.

Even just reading "Mr Plow" made my smile, then think of the jingle, then laugh.


jake thunder

She'll go 300 hectares on a single tank of kerosene. But take her for a test drive and you'll agree - zagreb evnan zlotnik diev!


JamesTC

Season 19 - Episode 2 - The Homer of Seville

The episode opens with the family accidentally crashing a funeral. Bart convinces the grieving grandson of the deceased that he must pay him $10 every week from now on. Bart is now a reprehensible human being.

Homer mishears pallbearer as "polar bear" and falls into a grave. This causes him to become really good at opera singing when he is lying down which is what the episode is about.

Lenny and Carl have sex with some old women before a fan of Homer rescues him from some old people a bit like that Father Ted episode. The fan takes off her clothes in front of Homer and tells him he can have her at any time but if he tells Marge then she will say he attacked her. Jesus fucking Christ, Homer is being threatened with false sexual assault claims. Oh great. Splendid. Well done.

The resolution is that the crazy fan has a chandelier fall on her and then Homer decides to stop being an opera singer because... erm... because.. erm... I dunno. But he can paint now. Roll credits.

1/10 - Shite.

EDIT - Forgot to say, Lenny and Carl have sex with the old ladies just a few seconds after the ladies say they aren't interested. All a bit rapey.

QDRPHNC

I've only seen a few scattered episodes since stopping at season 7. These sound abysmal.

dead-ced-dead

Homer's Brain: Don't tell him you were at a bar. But what else is open at night?

Homer: It was a pornography store. I was buying pornography.


My favourite episode is Homer Goes to College. Every moment a perfect one.

JamesTC

Quote from: dead-ced-dead on January 08, 2021, 11:53:41 PM

My favourite episode is Homer Goes to College. Every moment a perfect one.

NERD

By sheer coincidence I have just started that very episode. Need a cleanse.

Leo2112

People rarely seem to make it through these Simpsons marathons.  Of the few that do, I remember that 'Me Write Blog Good' guy's brain turning to mush after he got to a certain stage.  I wish you luck anyway!

idunnosomename

funnily enough I looked through all of Homer Goes to College on Friniac today (was looking for the wallet inspector). wonderfully constructed, how each scene is based around a gag but also moves the plot forward. somehow I cracked up multiple times just reading the dialogue.

how on earth the writers think they are making anything more than vague pastiches these days is beyond me. I think the last ones that get any sort of meme-potential are like 15-20 years old now (old man yells at cloud, at least you tried cake).

i will happily read all of JamesTC's miserable write-ups of these episodes until they cause him to die though.

JamesTC

Quote from: Leo2112 on January 08, 2021, 11:59:39 PM
People rarely seem to make it through these Simpsons marathons.  Of the few that do, I remember that 'Me Write Blog Good' guy's brain turning to mush after he got to a certain stage.  I wish you luck anyway!

I honestly didn't think it would get this bad so fast. I like the movie despite huge flaws. But Homer has just been threatened with false sexual assault claims, Bart extorted money from a grieving boy and Lenny and Carl kind of raped two old women.

dead-ced-dead

Quote from: JamesTC on January 08, 2021, 11:56:12 PM
NERD

By sheer coincidence I have just started that very episode. Need a cleanse.

It may be the best animated episode. So fluid and brimming with visual comedy. Homer's confident swagger and jump kick are just perfect.



And this moment is so funny.



JamesTC

Quote from: dead-ced-dead on January 09, 2021, 12:03:56 AM
It may be the best animated episode. So fluid and brimming with visual comedy. Homer's confident swagger and jump kick are just perfect.


I was really taken with this shot for some reason. The animation style really enhanced the show. The more clean and HD it became, the more it lost its soul.


JamesTC

Season 19 - Episode 3 - Midnight Towboy

Maggie is clingy to Marge. Convoluted sequence leads to Homer literally crying over spilt milk and the joke is hammered home by Homer pointing out it is spilt milk. Homer goes on an adventure for milk, drinks paint and then gets his car towed. Homer then decides to become a tow truck driver which is the plot of the episode.

As a side note, as I watch the episode I am pondering why we don't see Santa's Little Helper anymore. I adore greyhounds and would love to adopt one at some point in the future. I miss that little guy.

I guess there are a few funny bits with Homer towing cars and then a helicopter. The crazy Texan shoots some Santas because he has a fear of beards.

Subplot set up about how Marge is causing Maggie's dependence by paying attention to her when she cries. Maggie is left alone and then becomes really smart. This leads to a really depressing bit with Marge coddling a bag of potatoes. Loving this.

The town's people get sick of Homer's towing antics so set up a trap which leads to his tow truck getting towed and Homer is thrown into a basement with many other tow truck drivers. Sadly society descends into madness without Homer to tow cars. This plot is now over.

"Once upon a time there was a hilarious ogre named Shrek 3..." - Not proud to say I audibly laughed at this line. Homer phones home with a gun pointed to him to tell them not to look for him. Marge is worried and speaks about this in front of the super smart baby.

He's back! That lovable noodle Santa's Little Helper teams up with Maggie to locate and rescue Homer. Homer and Maggie then return home and Maggie knocks over the sack of potatoes. Credits role.

4/10 - Somehow an improvement. Sadly I fear this is the high ceiling of what I can expect from The Simpsons going forward.

dead-ced-dead

Quote from: JamesTC on January 09, 2021, 12:48:37 AM
Season 19 - Episode 3 - Midnight Towboy

Maggie is clingy to Marge. Convoluted sequence leads to Homer literally crying over spilt milk and the joke is hammered home by Homer pointing out it is spilt milk.

New Simpsons have a big problem with this. Every joke is explained about a dozen times. If it ever was funny the first time, it's certainly not by the second or third.

A good example from a newish episode (I can't recall):

Homer: "And I swore never to read again after To Kill a Mockingbird gave me no useful advice on killing mockingbirds.."

Alright, not the best joke ever, but I snort-chuckled.

"...It did teach me not to judge a man based on the colour of his skin, but what good does that do me?!"

Joke sunk, and it makes the first punchline retroactively not funny.

Glebe

I've paid for Disney+ for another month but I can't be arsed catching up on years of sub-par later Simpsons.

Ferris

Quote from: Leo2112 on January 08, 2021, 11:59:39 PM
People rarely seem to make it through these Simpsons marathons.  Of the few that do, I remember that 'Me Write Blog Good' guy's brain turning to mush after he got to a certain stage.  I wish you luck anyway!

What he said. These sound absolute tripe but I'll happily read along until you can't takes no more.

JamesTC

Genuinely got joy from Marge coddling a sack of potatoes like a baby. Absolute madness. How did we get here?


Ferris

Quote from: JamesTC on January 09, 2021, 01:54:52 AM
Genuinely got joy from Marge coddling a sack of potatoes like a baby. Absolute madness. How did we get here?



Presumably one of the writers noticed that people still chuckle over Marge's "I just think they're neat" potato line and thought "ooh we could do that joke again, that'd use up 20 seconds of air time and require no effort".

Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse

Reminds me of this superior moment from Summer of 4 ft 2:

phes

Quote from: JamesTC on January 08, 2021, 11:39:09 PM
Homer mishears pallbearer as "polar bear" and falls into a grave

Sounds like the inspiration for Derke

easytarget

Quote from: phes on January 09, 2021, 02:12:56 AM
Sounds like the inspiration for Derke

Sounds like Richard Herring's next Edinburgh show

Sonny_Jim

Ctrl-Fs for 'Large marge'

Watched that one recently with the wife and kid.  It was 'the straw that broke the camels back' so to speak, in that we stopped our Simpsons watchthrough shortly after and started watching Futurama instead.  Cannot be fucked to watch it again, so details are hazy, but I remember it being misogynist as fuck, with really poor jokes with 2 legitimately funny moments.

Ornlu

You could genuinely just be making these synopses up for all we know

Poirots BigGarlickyCorpse

Quote from: Ornlu on January 09, 2021, 09:51:38 AM
You could genuinely just be making these synopses up for all we know
No, he's not. I recognise them. They're giving me shit television flashbacks.

Lungpuddle

Quote from: Sonny_Jim on January 09, 2021, 07:08:09 AM
Ctrl-Fs for 'Large marge'

Watched that one recently with the wife and kid.  It was 'the straw that broke the camels back' so to speak, in that we stopped our Simpsons watchthrough shortly after and started watching Futurama instead.  Cannot be fucked to watch it again, so details are hazy, but I remember it being misogynist as fuck, with really poor jokes with 2 legitimately funny moments.

Stampy is in that one, yeah? Awful. They keep bringing back characters from classic seasons and doing utter shit with them. Then again, compared to Sebastian Cobb, Stampy gets off lightly. What were the 2 legitimately funny moments, unless it's too depressing remembering details?

JamesTC

Quote from: Sonny_Jim on January 09, 2021, 07:08:09 AM
Ctrl-Fs for 'Large marge'

Is that the one where Marge gets a big pair of knockers, the one where she starts an OnlyFans or the one where she rapes Homer?


I only made one of those up.

idunnosomename

One of them is a topical reference so expect the simpsons to make it in 3-5 years

JamesTC

Strapping in for a day of watching loads.

My idea of watching an earlier good episode to start me off wasn't a good idea in the end. I wanted a Santa's Little Helper episode because I love greyhounds but then I chose The Canine Mutiny from Season 8. Santa's Little Helper is a little dopey but just like most greyhounds he is unendingly loving including waiting patiently after Bart locked him out once the new dog Laddie arrived. Laddie is a snooty know-it-all prick. Anyway it wasn't the best so maybe it will help to not have direct comparison with a real classic...

Season 19 - Episode 4 - I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

The episode opens with Homer talking to himself which is funny, even if it was done better before, but is then ruined by Homer trying to strangle his own head.

Marge insists Homer mustn't let Lisa down by missing her award ceremony for being Student of the Millennium or something. Funny exchange were Homer and Marge negotiate on how sober he must be. To his credit, Homer prepares and makes it over an hour early which leads to a joke about him writing a Superman novel for some reason.

Joke about some armed robbers being gay. Gil gets shot about 20 times and is clearly dead. Anyway Marge agrees to visit the armed robber, Dwight, once he is in prison which is the plot of the episode.

Nice bit of continuity with a cameo from Snake's girlfriend (who went out with Mr Burns) from Season 13.

Marge keeps making excuses to not go to the prison as she is too nervous. This leads to Dwight escaping in a parody of The Shawshank Redemption (the waste pipe he climbs through is adjacent to a spring water pipe which he didn't notice).

Moe tries to peep on Marge while she is in the changing room.

Dwight takes Marge hostage, but it turns out he just wants his mummy who abandoned him. Chief Wiggum tries to rescue Marge but gets trapped in a fairground ride leading to Dwight saving him and giving himself up. Joke about knifing a prison guard. Credits roll.

3/10



JamesTC

Season 19 - Episode 5 - Treehouse of Horror XVIII

I regularly hear about people who watch through all the Treehouse of Horror episodes and that they feel that the standard is always high with these even going into the later years. To be honest I don't remember later Treehouse of Horror episodes being quite as bad as those episodes around them in the previous few seasons. Let's see shall we...

E.T., Go Home

This section is ET but Kodos is the alien and Bart is the kid.

Homer showers with Kodos because he thought it was Marge. Kodos massages his buttocks with his tentacles.

Turns out the aliens are evil so the government were right to judge the book by the cover which is pretty funny. Then Homer murders Kodos with a pillow.

5/10 - Vapid parody and does nothing special but it was entertaining and had some laughs. Basically fine.

Mr. & Mrs. Simpson

Parody of the film Mr and Mrs Smith. Remember that? This aired two years after that film came out and I'm not sure most viewers at the time would have remembered it never mind the viewers now.

Homer eats poison lasagna while telling himself not to eat it and then asks for seconds. I didn't laugh but it was okay. A real highlight of the section. Fucking hell.

Homer and Marge do a fight because they are both spies. That is the plot. Then they have sex on Chief Wiggum's corpse.

2/10 - Weak as piss and just fucking lazy but it wasn't offensive.

Heck House

Bart, Milhouse, Nelson and Lisa go on a prank spree because they realise it is more fun than trick or treating. The town don't like this so Flanders agrees to sort it.

Flanders tries to scare the kids straight with a "Heck House" but the gang scoff at his attempts so Flanders prays to God for help in psychologically torturing the kids and he is transformed into the Devil. Then shit gets real... oh wait it doesn't because they just run through the seven deadly sins and the kids agree not to sin anymore. Then Flanders says everybody watching is a sinner and the credits roll.

2/10 - Zero plot and nothing amusing. It was fucking nothing... but it wasn't offensive so well done guys.