The Simpsons

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Orlac
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:29 am

Re: The Simpsons

#926 Post by Orlac » Mon Feb 22, 2021 4:50 am

hearthesilence wrote:
Fri Feb 19, 2021 5:45 pm
Trump in the White House, Fox now owned by Disney - I'll give them that, but stuff like predicting the current pandemic is really stretching it.
Agreed. For one thing, the plague on the show started in Japan ;)

Funnily enough, Quimby visually looks more and more like Boris Johnson, escpeially when you consider the "Flames added electronically by Channel 6" shot.

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aox
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:02 pm
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Re: The Simpsons

#927 Post by aox » Mon Feb 22, 2021 7:52 pm


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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
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Re: The Simpsons

#928 Post by hearthesilence » Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:27 pm

When the cast changes happen, do they acknowledge it somehow within the show? I imagine they would, even though I haven't watched a single episode since season 15. (Actually had to look that up. I can't believe I've seen less than half of the episodes now - I used to make a point not to miss any.)

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domino harvey
Dot Com Dom
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Re: The Simpsons

#929 Post by domino harvey » Tue Feb 23, 2021 9:50 am

There weren’t any references to it in the first episode where Carl was replaced

Zot!
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:09 am

Re: The Simpsons

#930 Post by Zot! » Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:38 am

I have to imagine people have already commented on the irony of Bart being voiced by a girl, right? If there is anybody who might take exception to this it would be that character.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: The Simpsons

#931 Post by knives » Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:46 am

I’m pretty sure she’s a woman.

Zot!
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:09 am

Re: The Simpsons

#932 Post by Zot! » Tue Feb 23, 2021 11:01 am

knives wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:46 am
I’m pretty sure she’s a woman.
I wrote that comment in the spirit of Bart, who would very likely use "girl" as a perjorative.

Orlac
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Re: The Simpsons

#933 Post by Orlac » Tue Feb 23, 2021 11:10 am

All of this just shows how old-hat the programme is now - Dr Hibbert is a reference to a pre-scandal Bill Cosby for one thing.

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hearthesilence
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Re: The Simpsons

#934 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Feb 23, 2021 12:13 pm

I think it may have been on one of the DVD sets for the first eight seasons, but there was an archival interview with Dan Castellaneta where he recalls what it was like to have The Simpsons greenlit as show. The Tracy Ullman Show was his first steady gig on TV, but it was nearing its end with the final fourth season - so having the network spin off one of the recurring sketches into its own show was pretty fortuitous. He recalled specifically thinking,"If this can last like three...maybe four seasons like the Ullman Show, that would be really, REALLY great!" It's amazing to think back that his entire career, really his entire life was pretty much fine from that moment on, and no one in their right mind would have predicted 32+ years, not even if they believed in the show's inevitable success.

But how many shows hold up 32+ years later without anything looking politically dated? I'm guessing none, but this is likely the first time a show has lasted so long that they've had to address those issues head-on rather than discuss them in hindsight. It really is uncharted waters, and given how many factors are going to be at odds with each other, it's no surprise that it's been awkward, but it sounds like they're doing as best as can be expected.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: The Simpsons

#935 Post by knives » Tue Feb 23, 2021 12:40 pm

Other examples have revolving casts built in to ensure being up to date. Look at any number of soaps for example.

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hearthesilence
Joined: Fri Mar 04, 2005 4:22 am
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Re: The Simpsons

#936 Post by hearthesilence » Tue Feb 23, 2021 12:49 pm

knives wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 12:40 pm
Other examples have revolving casts built in to ensure being up to date. Look at any number of soaps for example.
Soaps are too different, it feels like apples and oranges to compare them to primetime shows. But yes, that's one reason why the big soaps lasted for decades until the changing market brought many of them to an end. To take it further, look at SNL. Same format and framework and I guess the same tone, but it has nothing like the continuity of a prime-time scripted show.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: The Simpsons

#937 Post by knives » Tue Feb 23, 2021 12:53 pm

Doctor Who in that case?

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Swift
Joined: Sun Oct 28, 2012 3:52 pm
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Re: The Simpsons

#938 Post by Swift » Tue Feb 23, 2021 1:42 pm

In hindsight (and obviously they couldn't have known early on that the show would end up running for years and years) I feel like they should've had the characters grow up and age over time. There's something to be said for feeling like you've been growing up with these characters. Coronation Street (long running UK soap) was a staple in my household as a kid and while I don't watch it now, it's fascinating to occasionally turn it on and see middle aged, balding, pudgy Steve McDonald for instance and remember how I watched the show when he first showed up as a rowdy, rebellious teenager in the mid 90s with an abusive, alcoholic father. Now granted, the writers themselves probably forget these characters' backstories frequently, but there's an element of comfort for the viewer in seeing these characters move through time like the rest of us.

Nothing really sticks in The Simpsons, apart from character deaths I guess. I think it would've been interesting to see this idea play out but who knows if the show would've even lasted this long in that format?

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bearcuborg
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2007 2:30 am
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Re: The Simpsons

#939 Post by bearcuborg » Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:33 pm

Swift, I’ve been saying that for years, at this point, it would be the only thing to get me back into the show.

I don’t think any cartoon show has really done this? I could see Mike Judge doing it if King of the Hill comes back.

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knives
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 6:49 pm

Re: The Simpsons

#940 Post by knives » Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:34 pm

Steven Universe kind of tried. The Gorillaz as well though they aren’t a show per say.

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dustybooks
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 10:52 am
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Re: The Simpsons

#941 Post by dustybooks » Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:26 pm

The characters on Daria aged, but since it only covered a four-year period it didn't require any huge aesthetic changes.

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Monterey Jack
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:27 am

Re: The Simpsons

#942 Post by Monterey Jack » Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:57 pm

bearcuborg wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:33 pm
I don’t think any cartoon show has really done this? I could see Mike Judge doing it if King of the Hill comes back.
The Legend Of Korra had a four year (I think) time jump between seasons three and four, and aged the characters up appropriately. Also the How To Train Your Dragon movies aged the characters between films.

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jindianajonz
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Re: The Simpsons

#943 Post by jindianajonz » Wed Feb 24, 2021 12:44 am

Monterey Jack wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:57 pm
bearcuborg wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:33 pm
I don’t think any cartoon show has really done this? I could see Mike Judge doing it if King of the Hill comes back.
The Legend Of Korra had a four year (I think) time jump between seasons three and four, and aged the characters up appropriately.
Avatar as well. It was a shorter Time frame, but we saw the characters growing out their hair

Zot!
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 12:09 am

Re: The Simpsons

#944 Post by Zot! » Wed Feb 24, 2021 9:42 am

Image

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aox
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:02 pm
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Re: The Simpsons

#945 Post by aox » Wed Feb 24, 2021 9:53 am

It's amazing Bart went from that to working in the cafeteria, to becoming a drifter when he then became a male stripper, then operated a wrecking ball before going to law school, and ultimately ended up becoming Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Don't ever let anyone tell you that social mobility is dead in the United States.

Orlac
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 4:29 am

Re: The Simpsons

#946 Post by Orlac » Wed Feb 24, 2021 10:50 am

To be fair, the first three was fantasies.

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Professor Wagstaff
Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:27 pm

Re: The Simpsons

#947 Post by Professor Wagstaff » Wed Feb 24, 2021 12:33 pm

Do The Simpsons still utilize flashbacks to Marge and Homer in childhood? They once showed them growing up in the 1960s/1970s, but now they would have been coming of age in the 1990s. probably even graduating high school in the 2000s.

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aox
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Re: The Simpsons

#948 Post by aox » Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:28 pm

Professor Wagstaff wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 12:33 pm
Do The Simpsons still utilize flashbacks to Marge and Homer in childhood? They once showed them growing up in the 1960s/1970s, but now they would have been coming of age in the 1990s. probably even graduating high school in the 2000s.
Yes

I haven't seen it, but it is supposed to be somewhat abysmal.

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colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

Re: The Simpsons

#949 Post by colinr0380 » Sat Feb 27, 2021 7:50 am

Monterey Jack wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 10:57 pm
bearcuborg wrote:
Tue Feb 23, 2021 2:33 pm
I don’t think any cartoon show has really done this? I could see Mike Judge doing it if King of the Hill comes back.
The Legend Of Korra had a four year (I think) time jump between seasons three and four, and aged the characters up appropriately. Also the How To Train Your Dragon movies aged the characters between films.
I have just reached the big time jump in the Fist of the North Star series as well, where Bat and Lin, the two young children used as emblems of innocence throughout the show, have become the new generation of young adults. Major spoiler: Here's the final scene of the entire series.

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aox
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2008 12:02 pm
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Re: The Simpsons

#950 Post by aox » Wed Mar 03, 2021 6:39 pm


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