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The voice of Edna Krabappel dies aged 70













Jimmy Grimble

Jimmy Grimble

Well-known member
Nov 10, 2007
9,754
Starting a revolution from my bed




Colossal Squid

Colossal Squid

Returning video tapes
Feb 11, 2010
4,906
Under the sea
Jimmy Grimble said:
Your next World Cup should be a Simpsons one. NSC decides the greatest ever episode.
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Actually you jest but those mischievous chaps at NSP once tried this very idea, to flood the board with as many polls as there are Simpsons episodes. Obviously they were stopped dead in their tracks by the all powerful Bozza.

However, the concept still has some merit. The nominations could take a while but when you boil down the fact that the golden age of the Simpsons was really seasons 3 - 8, the number of episodes to pick from isn't quite as daunting as if you were to take its entire production history.

I'd personally place the seminal season 3 classic Last Exit to Springfield up there as a strong contender. That's the one in which Homer becomes union rep and the power plant go on strike over the loss of the staff dental plan... dental plan... dental plan...
 


Jimmy Grimble

Jimmy Grimble

Well-known member
Nov 10, 2007
9,754
Starting a revolution from my bed
Agreed (I was actually being serious!). Last Exit to Springfield would be a contender. As would Cape Feare from Season 4. Who could forget Sideshow Bob and the rakes?
 


Mellotron

Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
31,850
Brighton
Colossal Squid said:
Actually you jest but those mischievous chaps at NSP once tried this very idea, to flood the board with as many polls as there are Simpsons episodes. Obviously they were stopped dead in their tracks by the all powerful Bozza.

However, the concept still has some merit. The nominations could take a while but when you boil down the fact that the golden age of the Simpsons was really seasons 3 - 8, the number of episodes to pick from isn't quite as daunting as if you were to take its entire production history.

I'd personally place the seminal season 3 classic Last Exit to Springfield up there as a strong contender. That's the one in which Homer becomes union rep and the power plant go on strike over the loss of the staff dental plan... dental plan... dental plan...
Click to expand...

Story wise yes around seasons 3-8 were best, but in terms of humour some more recent episodes are FAR funnier - Family Guy meant Simpsons had to up their game in those stakes.
 




Colossal Squid

Colossal Squid

Returning video tapes
Feb 11, 2010
4,906
Under the sea
Mellotron said:
Story wise yes around seasons 3-8 were best, but in terms of humour some more recent episodes are FAR funnier - Family Guy meant Simpsons had to up their game in those stakes.
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The jokes got thin on the ground from about season 11 onwards and from then on each new season would just have less and less moments worth laughing at. The decline in quality was really quite alarming.

I've not watched any episodes at all from the past six seasons or so because I find it such a crushing disappointment seeing the show as such a shadow of its former self. So unless something dramatic changed that I'm unaware of (and reviews would suggest not) I fear you are incorrect.

Family Guy is an odd example. It has its own place but the jokes are all interchangeable and rely heavily on American pop culture references which often don't translate to us over here. It started off plagiarising the Simpsons a little and then went off on its own weirder, darker tangent. The trouble is it has no heart or soul. The characters exist purely as a vehicle for the latest amalgamation of cultural references that go into a gag. Their personalities change at will to suit each episode
 


Jimmy Grimble

Jimmy Grimble

Well-known member
Nov 10, 2007
9,754
Starting a revolution from my bed
Colossal Squid said:
The jokes got thin on the ground from about season 11 onwards and from then on each new season would just have less and less moments worth laughing at. The decline in quality was really quite alarming.

I've not watched any episodes at all from the past six seasons or so because I find it such a crushing disappointment seeing the show as such a shadow of its former self. So unless something dramatic changed that I'm unaware of (and reviews would suggest not) I fear you are incorrect.

Family Guy is an odd example. It has its own place but the jokes are all interchangeable and rely heavily on American pop culture references which often don't translate to us over here. It started off plagiarising the Simpsons a little and then went off on its own weirder, darker tangent. The trouble is it has no heart or soul. The characters exist purely as a vehicle for the latest amalgamation of cultural references that go into a gag. Their personalities change at will to suit each episode
Click to expand...

Gotta agree here again.

A quick search of Simpsons reviews, best episodes etc soon reveals a swathe of articles that pinpoint the early (ish) years as comfortably the best output.

Family Guy was essentially Simpsons lite for their fest few seasons. It's never got anywhere near touching the heights Simpsons once reached.
 










Mellotron

Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
31,850
Brighton
Colossal Squid said:
The jokes got thin on the ground from about season 11 onwards and from then on each new season would just have less and less moments worth laughing at. The decline in quality was really quite alarming.
Click to expand...

Disagree personally. Homer is FAR funnier nowadays than in the early series. I acknowledge the storylines have gotten much weaker (wheel out the celeb to say some boring rubbish lines in a very safe lampoon of themselves etc).

My reference to Family Guy was simply that while nowhere near as good at character development or storylines, it was lightyears FUNNIER than The Simpsons (which was "light" humour) when it came out. I think Simpsons has raised it's game in this respect.
 






Colossal Squid

Colossal Squid

Returning video tapes
Feb 11, 2010
4,906
Under the sea
Mellotron said:
Disagree personally. Homer is FAR funnier nowadays than in the early series. I acknowledge the storylines have gotten much weaker (wheel out the celeb to say some boring rubbish lines in a very safe lampoon of themselves etc).

My reference to Family Guy was simply that while nowhere near as good at character development or storylines, it was lightyears FUNNIER than The Simpsons (which was "light" humour) when it came out. I think Simpsons has raised it's game in this respect.
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Well each to their own but I have to confess you're the first person I've ever heard with a good word to say about the latter years.

I think Homer is a total puppet now, much like the Family Guy Characters are.

In the glory days you would know how Homer would react or what his thoughts may be on various topics because he was a developed character with a personality we all knew and loved. Whereas nowadays they just make him act a total jerk for the sake of getting more slapstick laughs. He's no longer loveable or goofy, he's just a dick.

And it's the same with the other characters. Fans of the original show (and I treat the early years and latter seasons as separate shows) know that Lisa is a strictly moral and ethical person with a few simple flaws befitting of an 8 year old girl, whereas now she's just there to act as the voice of reason to whatever latest jerkass antics they've got Homer doing. And on occasion they'll just completely rewrite her personality to suit whatever banal and disjointed new storyline they want to crowbar into this week's terrible new episode.

What's more is that they didn't used to rely on contemporaneous or cultural references very often, which helps give the golden years that timeless appeal. Sure the animation was a little more crude, which dates it somewhat, but the storyline and the gags translate to today no problem. Take a look at the more recent episodes however and they're crammed full of references to whatever the latest crazes might be or who's been in the (American) news of late.

Oh look, here's Justin Bieber, turning up for no other reason than that he's popular with kids and has sold millions of records.

Compare the celebrity appearances then and now. The guest stars pop up these days, always playing themselves, basically because they want the publicity. They're crowbarred into the show with no thought or planning and are usually interchangeable. It's much like in Ricky Gervais' Extras when they're short an actor and get Keith Chegwin in just because he's a "name" and the guy shows absolutely no aptitude for the job in hand.

But when you look back to the glory days you find that global megastars would lend their voices to characters that weren't even based on them. Sometimes not even credited (Michael Jackson, Dustin Hoffman). They got involved because it was fun, not to sell anything. And what's more they added something to the episodes in question.

Remember Michelle Pfeiffer's turn as sexy siren Mindy, tempting Homer in Season 5? Classic. Or what about Jeff Goldblum turning up as Troy McClure's agent in A Fish Called Selma (Season 7)? It was excellent.

I just don't think you can look at the shell of what was there now, in the same way. It should have been put to bed long ago instead of letting the current crop of writers anywhere near it. The gags they're churning out now should have been given a new host, instead of turning the family we all love into zombies to suit the network's desire to see the show never die.
 




W

westy1983

Member
Feb 28, 2005
65
Hove
Colossal Squid said:
The jokes got thin on the ground from about season 11 onwards and from then on each new season would just have less and less moments worth laughing at. The decline in quality was really quite alarming.

I've not watched any episodes at all from the past six seasons or so because I find it such a crushing disappointment seeing the show as such a shadow of its former self. So unless something dramatic changed that I'm unaware of (and reviews would suggest not) I fear you are incorrect.

Family Guy is an odd example. It has its own place but the jokes are all interchangeable and rely heavily on American pop culture references which often don't translate to us over here. It started off plagiarising the Simpsons a little and then went off on its own weirder, darker tangent. The trouble is it has no heart or soul. The characters exist purely as a vehicle for the latest amalgamation of cultural references that go into a gag. Their personalities change at will to suit each episode
Click to expand...

Cartoons don't have to make sense, it's just a bunch of stuff that happens!
 




Puppet Master

Puppet Master

non sequitur
Aug 14, 2012
4,055
South Park tops them both - so many great characters. Randy, Butters and Cartman seem to provide the best laughs.
 


Mellotron

Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
31,850
Brighton
South Park is also quality, and has improved big time season on season, adding a much needed satirical element to it's more puerile earlier stuff.
 


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