Topic: When did The Simpsons jump the shark? (Read 5763 times)

Detonator · « **Reply #40 on:** August 15, 2010, 07:05:50 AM »

Quote from: Shinra on August 15, 2010, 05:27:44 AM

Them being teenagers in the early 90s makes even less sense if you go back and watch any of the flashback episodes. Homer and Marge were clearly in their teens during the 70s, and it gets brought up multiple times during the original ten seasons.

As jarring as it is, I don't actually have a problem with them doing this. They established early on that the show is not stuck in 1989 despite the characters not aging, so something like this was inevitable. I mean, the show is already a paradox if you take any episode where they reference a date as canon, so I don't see a big deal with them retconning something that was clearly impossible to reference again.

TA · « **Reply #41 on:** August 15, 2010, 07:21:49 AM »

You are defending the episode where it turns out Homer invented Grunge.

Detonator · « **Reply #42 on:** August 15, 2010, 07:49:55 AM »

Quote from: TA on August 15, 2010, 07:21:49 AM

You are defending the episode where it turns out Homer invented Grunge.

I wasn't defending the specifics of the episode, I was just saying it was stupid to fault the show for timeline inconsistencies when they've been having them ever since they showed Clinton as president.

If you wanna say the episode sucked, fine, just don't claim it's because they ruined the precious Simpsons canon.

Büge · « **Reply #43 on:** August 15, 2010, 07:54:38 AM »

Quote from: Detonator on August 15, 2010, 07:49:55 AM

I wasn't defending the specifics of the episode, I was just saying it was stupid to fault the show for timeline inconsistencies when they've been having them ever since they showed Bush as president.

Mongrel · « **Reply #44 on:** August 15, 2010, 08:00:44 AM »

Which Bush?

Zaratustra · « **Reply #45 on:** August 15, 2010, 08:03:38 AM »

Mostly it disappointed me to watch Simpsons become a shadow of its former self to become a shadow puppet show to amuse teenagers. "Best cartoon of the decade of 90? Never heard of that!"

Detonator · « **Reply #46 on:** August 15, 2010, 10:03:39 AM »

Quote from: Büge on August 15, 2010, 07:54:38 AM

Quote from: Detonator on August 15, 2010, 07:49:55 AM
I wasn't defending the specifics of the episode, I was just saying it was stupid to fault the show for timeline inconsistencies when they've been having them ever since they showed Bush as president.

I was pointing out the first time there was an inconsistency. Bush was president when the series started, so showing Clinton as president shows the inconsistent progression of time compared to the character's ages.

Brentai · « **Reply #47 on:** August 15, 2010, 10:16:51 AM »

They've been doing paradox jokes ever since the first time it was noted that Bart's been in the fourth grade for years. Which I'm pretty sure was in the Golden Age.

teg · « **Reply #48 on:** August 15, 2010, 11:05:22 AM »

I assume time in the Simpsons works like it does in Zot!.

The funeral at the end of the Frank Grimes episode is pretty much the moment when Homer went from being a well-meaning dolt to a painfully stupid jerk. A lot of people like to say that's the shark-jumping moment.

I think that just about every season has one enjoyable episode, personally. But I find that season nine and on are really forgettable outside of the particularly great or awful episodes.

Classic · « **Reply #49 on:** August 15, 2010, 11:34:26 AM »

I don't hate any of you enough to ask you to compile those memorable episodes... but I suspect one or more of you might hate yourselves enough to have already done it.

Zaratustra · « **Reply #50 on:** August 16, 2010, 09:13:22 AM »

I must remind you that a jump the shark moment is when -you- realize the show hasn't been that good for a while, not the exact moment it turned bad.

James Edward Smith · « **Reply #51 on:** August 16, 2010, 10:31:58 AM »

Then I retract my original statement of Lisa saying she was a vegetarian. That was more when I think it actually started going downhill. When I realized it was when Apu got married. Funnily enough, Apu is a major character in both those episodes but is much funnier in the former due to the non-alcoholic beer gag and him singing Beatles songs badly.

Thad · « **Reply #52 on:** August 23, 2010, 08:41:11 PM »

...oh, this thread is here. That's why I didn't know what Geo was talking about. Should I just merge the fuckers?

Quote from: Brentai on August 14, 2010, 04:14:56 PM

Season 9 is pretty unforgivable though and has my personal least favorite episode, the one with the fossilized angel or whatever.

For my money, "It's not that I don't have a spiritual side, I just find it hard to believe there's a dead angel hanging in our garage" is a pretty perfect analogy for every religious debate ever.

Quote from: Shinra on August 15, 2010, 05:27:44 AM

Them being teenagers in the early 90s makes even less sense if you go back and watch any of the flashback episodes. Homer and Marge were clearly in their teens during the 70s, and it gets brought up multiple times during the original ten seasons.

This is the kind of stupid shit that is ruining the show.

No, this is the kind of neckbeard shit that Comic Book Guy complains about.

The show's been running for 21 years and nobody's aged. No shit that means they couldn't have been born in the same year they were when the show started.

Quote from: TA on August 15, 2010, 07:21:49 AM

You are defending the episode where it turns out Homer invented Grunge.

He who's tired of Weird Al is tired of life.

Quote from: Mongrel on August 15, 2010, 08:00:44 AM

Which Bush?

They never showed Bush II as President.

(Well, you see Homer punching him in the face in a photo once.)

Mongrel · « **Reply #53 on:** August 24, 2010, 02:48:42 AM »

Quote from: Thad on August 23, 2010, 08:41:11 PM

They never showed Bush II as President.

Wow, really?

Huh. Interesting.

Detonator · « **Reply #54 on:** August 24, 2010, 05:19:02 AM »

Yeah, for the longest time his only depiction was a poorly-crafted cardboard cutout made by Homer.

Mongrel · « **Reply #55 on:** August 24, 2010, 05:22:00 AM »

Okay, so they did acknowledge his existence in some way.

That's a lot less weird than the idea of the Simpsons spending eight years pretending that one of the most easily-targetable presidents in US history didn't exist.

<--- has not watched an episode of the Simpsons since about season 10 or 11.

Detonator · « **Reply #56 on:** August 24, 2010, 05:25:31 AM »

Well, that depiction happened many years before his presidency, and was used as a ploy to lure out Bush Sr. I don't recall any depictions DURING his presidency but I can't say I've seen close to all of the episodes between 2001-2008.

Mongrel · « **Reply #57 on:** August 24, 2010, 06:12:30 AM »

Oh jeez, that's from the next-door president episode, isn't it. I'd forgotten all about that (other than "Here's a little something I learned in the CIA!", of course).

Büge · « **Reply #58 on:** August 24, 2010, 09:22:26 AM »

I don't think they ever made fun of Bush II because (a) they were coasting on the accolades of the previous ten years so they didn't NEED to reuse every joke that stand-up comics were beating into the ground, and (b) 9/11 happened and you weren't allowed to make fun of him anymore.

Mongrel · « **Reply #59 on:** August 24, 2010, 10:03:31 AM »

I dunno about that second point.

Maybe for the first ten minutes or so, but he was pretty fair game after that.

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Author Topic: When did The Simpsons jump the shark? (Read 5763 times)