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pooch516 posted:Some of my favorite jokes from when I was younger were references to things I didn't even know about at the time. I figured it was just a weird thing in the Simpsons world and years later realized the joke. It was almost a signature Simpsons joke format for a while: "Tractor pulls! Atlanta Braves baseball! JOE FRANKLIN!" Me: "I know what Thing 1 and Thing 2 are, but Thing 3 is beyond my cultural experience! I feel like I'm 66% of a grown-up! Better watch more Simpsons!  "
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Oct 8, 2018 20:45
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pooch516 posted:Some of my favorite jokes from when I was younger were references to things I didn't even know about at the time. I figured it was just a weird thing in the Simpsons world and years later realized the joke. They were so good at it that I only just found out recently that Mel Zetz isn't a name I was supposed to have recognized
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Oct 8, 2018 20:52
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sounds like the increasing homogeneity and decreasing longevity of memetic mass culture is maybe killing the ability of the simpsons to make jokes based on popular culture
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Oct 8, 2018 21:00
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Tree Goat posted:sounds like the increasing homogeneity and decreasing longevity of memetic mass culture is maybe killing the ability of the simpsons to make jokes based on popular culture That's been a relatively recent phenomenon, the Simpsons have sucked eggs for longer
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Oct 8, 2018 21:27
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Tree Goat posted:sounds like the increasing homogeneity and decreasing longevity of memetic mass culture is maybe killing the ability of the simpsons to make jokes based on popular culture Back when the Simpsons was big there was still a monoculture, that's just gone now.
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Oct 8, 2018 21:36
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They say noobs several times
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Oct 8, 2018 21:44
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pretty soft girl posted:They were so good at it that I only just found out recently that Mel Zetz isn't a name I was supposed to have recognized Or Langdon Alger.
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Oct 8, 2018 22:03
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For years I thought Pardon My Zinger was a real show.
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Oct 8, 2018 22:15
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spaceblancmange posted:For years I thought Pardon My Zinger was a real show. It's not? 
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Oct 8, 2018 23:19
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marge divorcing homer is the obvious move they're leaving money on the loving table IMO
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Oct 8, 2018 23:22
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lol but seriously I posted:marge divorcing homer is the obvious move they're leaving money on the loving table IMO I'd respect the show 100x more if they actually did it than dance around it. It's almost more offensive as it is.
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Oct 8, 2018 23:26
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lol but seriously I posted:marge divorcing homer is the obvious move they're leaving money on the loving table IMO Didn’t they already do that and then Homer fell in love with Lena Dunham? TBH, I didn’t see the episode, I just read an article about it and sighed.
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Oct 8, 2018 23:41
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SEX BURRITO posted:Didn’t they already do that and then Homer fell in love with Lena Dunham? TBH, I didn’t see the episode, I just read an article about it and sighed. I think that ended up being a dream episode.
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Oct 8, 2018 23:50
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There was also a bad episode where Marge dated a handsome sailor while still legally married, either because Homer had disappeared at sea, or she had amnesia and forgot her family, or possibly both. There's also a chance it's two different episodes, but I have no idea why I'd have seen both.
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Oct 8, 2018 23:53
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think of the new yorker think pieces matt geroning you know what you must do
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Oct 9, 2018 00:01
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FilthyImp posted:I sat through last night's episode for some reason and it's just so loving mean for no reason. Lately Simpsons has been somewhat right-leaning, so this should come as no surprise.
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Oct 9, 2018 00:32
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Zulily Zoetrope posted:There was also a bad episode where Marge dated a handsome sailor while still legally married, either because Homer had disappeared at sea, or she had amnesia and forgot her family, or possibly both. There's also a chance it's two different episodes, but I have no idea why I'd have seen both. She gets amnesia from mixing cleaning supplies, but slowly recovers all her memories about everyone except Homer. There's also another one where she starts working with a handsome scientist to save manatees because she's mad that Homer rented out their home for a porn shoot.
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Oct 9, 2018 00:33
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PostNouveau posted:She gets amnesia from mixing cleaning supplies, but slowly recovers all her memories about everyone except Homer. these sound like they were created by a simpsons plot generator
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Oct 9, 2018 00:39
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FilthyImp posted:they spend a weird noir second act upset at each other That was the only good part of that whole episode.
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Oct 9, 2018 00:41
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Al Jean needs the show to run until he retires because he sure as hell won be involved with another gravy train
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Oct 9, 2018 00:59
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Drink-Mix Man posted:It's not? It is but it's real name is "Who's Line Is It Anyway"
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Oct 9, 2018 01:21
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brugroffil posted:I think the problem is more that the writing just sucks. My favorite one of these "out of nowhere" references chock full of jokes is the entire town's chase for Molloy's treasure in Homer the Vigilante. Just one big reference to It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, one of my favorite movies, which at the time was a 31 year old reference. I mean, the same episode also has references to Dragnet and Dr. Strangelove, but doesn't hit you over the head like moderns Simpsons would with "HEY, HERE'S A BADLY TIMED REFERENCE AAAAAND  *BODILY HARM*" like a godawful Friedberg/Seltzer movie.
You Are A Werewolf fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Oct 9, 2018 |
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Oct 9, 2018 01:39
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Yeardley Smith had an AMA on reddit the other day and when asked which celeb was the most fun said Lady Gaga was awesome!
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Oct 9, 2018 06:55
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SweetMercifulCrap! posted:Yeah, the references were much more organically written into the script in those days. Though I do think that some of it is the fact that that style of comedy - referencing and satirizing pop culture by working it into the script just for the sake of it - was still pretty fresh and new at that point and it's kind of tired these days, so even if they did a good reference, it wouldn't come off the same. The reference also can't just be the joke. Like the Terminator 2 joke was funny because the joke is parodizing the tone of the scene, not just recreating it like lazy referential humor. Like the reference is not a great joke, but it works that a tense scene is swapped for Homer earnestly trying to get Ned to play mini golf by gleefully climbing on their car with golf clubs. Ned then makes a joke about the car being a Geo, because they realize that just doing T2 can't be the whole gag. By the end of it, I'd be surprised if it was more than 20-30 seconds. Lately, there's a thing in shows where if you do that kind of reference, you have to indulge someone on the writing/production and make the reference a shot-by-shot reproduction of a movie scene. If it was modern Simpsons, it'd be a perfect recreation gloriously brought to you in HD, over a minute long while taking any moment it can for the show to be just pointing out that it's a reference. That was also back in the day when there was more of a shared consciousness around these things. You could make Titanic, T2, North by Northwest, etc. references because a huge chunk of the population could recognize those moments, and if you didn't then they made it quick to keep the episode moving. Pop culture moves at light speed these days, especially in terms of internet content where have to quickly acknowledge that this internet moment exists, then work it into a quality bit before it's too late. Otherwise, you're behind the curve and stuck with a Harlem Shake joke months after anyone gives a poo poo.
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Oct 9, 2018 07:57
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If they did that T2 gag these days it'd end with Homer sitting there, after falling from Ned's car and out of nowhere Robert Patrick would show up and go, "Hey, I'm Robert Patrick. Your form is lacking. Let me show you how its really done!" Then he'd chase down a random car and grow metal hook arms and as he's climbing up the back of the car he'd shout something about the X-Files.
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Oct 9, 2018 09:18
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Drunken Baker posted:If they did that T2 gag these days it'd end with Homer sitting there, after falling from Ned's car and out of nowhere Robert Patrick would show up and go, "Hey, I'm Robert Patrick. Your form is lacking. Let me show you how its really done!" Then he'd chase down a random car and grow metal hook arms and as he's climbing up the back of the car he'd shout
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Oct 9, 2018 09:23
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Plan Z posted:The reference also can't just be the joke. Like the Terminator 2 joke was funny because the joke is parodizing the tone of the scene, not just recreating it like lazy referential humor. Like the reference is not a great joke, but it works that a tense scene is swapped for Homer earnestly trying to get Ned to play mini golf by gleefully climbing on their car with golf clubs. Ned then makes a joke about the car being a Geo, because they realize that just doing T2 can't be the whole gag. By the end of it, I'd be surprised if it was more than 20-30 seconds. Lately, there's a thing in shows where if you do that kind of reference, you have to indulge someone on the writing/production and make the reference a shot-by-shot reproduction of a movie scene. If it was modern Simpsons, it'd be a perfect recreation gloriously brought to you in HD, over a minute long while taking any moment it can for the show to be just pointing out that it's a reference. Then again, I mean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKWnMN85hUg That's like near peak Simpsons gold right there, for whatever reasons.
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Oct 9, 2018 12:25
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Imagine that scene in the bland, lifeless animation style of the current Simpsons.
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Oct 9, 2018 12:30
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Maggie's got an impressive rate of fire.
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Oct 9, 2018 12:33
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Data Graham posted:Then again, I mean Well to start, it's a super iconic reference that has been parodied and homaged in countless works at this point. It also aired a full 10 years after the movie came out, so it wasn't a quick cash-in. There are kids born in the last decade who very likely know what that scene is all about. Second, there's no snappy dialog in it. The humor is all in the animation and the visual gags, which leads to point three: it doesn't linger on any joke. Like all golden age Simpsons, it's one joke after another with no pause for the audience to laugh. This greatly improves the flow of the scene. The humor is all in the turning of ordinary household objects into clever references to the movie without ever seeming over the top. It's a cartoon, sure, but it's not zany and it narrowly avoids being absurd. In modern Simpsons, Harrison Ford or Spielberg would have had a too on the nose cameo and someone would have shouted, "Get your hat Bart! Like in the movie!" or something equally awfully while Homer as the boulder would have bounced around like a pinball. ...honestly, I can't even pretend to write a line as awful as would show up in the actual show.
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Oct 9, 2018 13:19
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Atlas Hugged posted:Well to start, it's a super iconic reference that has been parodied and homaged in countless works at this point. It also aired a full 10 years after the movie came out, so it wasn't a quick cash-in. There are kids born in the last decade who very likely know what that scene is all about. Second, there's no snappy dialog in it. The humor is all in the animation and the visual gags, which leads to point three: it doesn't linger on any joke. Like all golden age Simpsons, it's one joke after another with no pause for the audience to laugh. This greatly improves the flow of the scene. The humor is all in the turning of ordinary household objects into clever references to the movie without ever seeming over the top. It's a cartoon, sure, but it's not zany and it narrowly avoids being absurd. In modern Simpsons, Harrison Ford or Spielberg would have had a too on the nose cameo and someone would have shouted, "Get your hat Bart! Like in the movie!" or something equally awfully while Homer as the boulder would have bounced around like a pinball. One thing you're forgetting to mention is that this scene, and many other Simpsons jokes, work despite the references themselves. Even if you havent seen Raiders its still a really well scripted and animated action scene with its own jokes like Homer hitting the garage door or yelling incomprehensibly with the rake. Its hilarious within its own absurdity so it transcends basic reference humour. Same with the aforementioned T2 and Ned's car. Most modern Simpsons just utterly fails to actually do that itself and relies purely on reference to be the joke.. which just isnt really funny.
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Oct 9, 2018 15:49
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Nutsngum posted:One thing you're forgetting to mention is that this scene, and many other Simpsons jokes, work despite the references themselves. Even if you havent seen Raiders its still a really well scripted and animated action scene with its own jokes like Homer hitting the garage door or yelling incomprehensibly with the rake. Its hilarious within its own absurdity so it transcends basic reference humour. Same with the aforementioned T2 and Ned's car. A new episode would end that sequence with Homer jumping in a fridge to avoid a nuclear explosion and then saying something about how Crystal Skull was a bad movie so that everyone knew what was being referenced.
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Oct 9, 2018 15:57
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SelenicMartian posted:Maggie's got an impressive rate of fire. Hahaha I thought the same thing
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Oct 9, 2018 17:59
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Gibbon posted:Yeardley Smith had an AMA on reddit the other day and when asked which celeb was the most fun said Lady Gaga was awesome! Was the context like "that episode is great!" or "Lady Gaga was fun working with"? Because no one liked that episode. The whole town (Mr. Large cheering for Lady Gaga was so jarring. Only good bit was Ms. Hoover posting "not so smart now, are you?" on the school message board to Lisa. And now for no reason, a great lunch lady Doris bit: https://youtu.be/BCnIuZaZyd8
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Oct 9, 2018 18:20
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Nutsngum posted:One thing you're forgetting to mention is that this scene, and many other Simpsons jokes, work despite the references themselves. Even if you havent seen Raiders its still a really well scripted and animated action scene with its own jokes like Homer hitting the garage door or yelling incomprehensibly with the rake. Its hilarious within its own absurdity so it transcends basic reference humour. Same with the aforementioned T2 and Ned's car. Exactly, both parody scenes are funny even if you don't know what they're parodying. Like most classic Simpsons jokes they're funny on more than a superficial level, and the knowledge of the parody just makes it more entertaining.
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Oct 9, 2018 18:30
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Drunken Baker posted:If they did that T2 gag these days... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PBq8do9l1Q There's also the straight T2 parody where Frond tries to get Louise and dies in creamed corn.
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Oct 9, 2018 18:40
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FilthyImp posted:Bob's Burgers has done a few T2s. A consistently good show. It's starting to get up there in the season count but it's still (usually) excellent.
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Oct 9, 2018 18:56
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Nutsngum posted:One thing you're forgetting to mention is that this scene, and many other Simpsons jokes, work despite the references themselves. Even if you havent seen Raiders its still a really well scripted and animated action scene with its own jokes like Homer hitting the garage door or yelling incomprehensibly with the rake. Its hilarious within its own absurdity so it transcends basic reference humour. Same with the aforementioned T2 and Ned's car. May have also helped that it was also an opening, so it didn't force you to just sit through some self-indulgent long reference in the middle of the episode. Even modern Family Guy can have episodes that I won't immediately turn off until in the middle they get the guy with "the voice" to just do some rambling 3 minute gag out of nowhere and I'm out. Then at the end of the day, it was just good. Like you said, the original scene is really well-paced and watchable, and The Simpsons bit re-shot it so that it works for comedy.
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Oct 9, 2018 20:21
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Iron Crowned posted:Exactly, both parody scenes are funny even if you don't know what they're parodying. Like most classic Simpsons jokes they're funny on more than a superficial level, and the knowledge of the parody just makes it more entertaining. Yeah, that's the difference. It's still good even if you don't know the reference.
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Oct 9, 2018 20:28
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Plant MONSTER. posted:A consistently good show. It's starting to get up there in the season count but it's still (usually) excellent. It's really really really good and I don't consider it to have a bad episode. That being said I don't think it's got the satirical edge that made good simpsons so good. And unlike the other guy who said that modern simpsons is mean (he's right), it's pretty clear that the writers and creators really love their characters and it shows.
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Oct 9, 2018 21:46
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