The Simpsons Has Stripped The Shark
Marge Simpson appears "nude" on the cover of Playboy's November issue. TMZ "leaked" this image of the cover, and provided their classically important and insightful commentary:
This is the closest you'll ever get to finding out if the carpet really does match the blue drapes.
Yuck, TMZ. But more importantly: can we be done with The Simpsons now? Don't get me wrong, The Simpsons will go down in TV Herstory as one of the Greatest Shows of All Time (FILE UNDER: duh). But this season marks the 20 year anniversary of the show's 1989 debut. That is so many years. And has anyone even watched any of this season's episodes?
And now this. The Simpsons is Hentai now? Stunt casting on an ancient paper magazine for a show that passed its prime years ago. This is making me :(, and is NOT making me want to do the Bartman.
Posted by Gabe at 10:15 AM in Cartoons
Tags: Hugh Hefner | Marge Simpson | Matt Groening | Playboy | The Simpsons | Yuck
That bartman link was :( I was expecting the real video, but I guess I can always go home and pop in my cassettte TAPE to rock out to the track. Yes, that's right. I am your grandmother.
Score = 5
no NSFW tag?
Score = 3
Hell next thing you know they will be appearing on fox
Score = 4
This Simpsons-has-gone-on-too-long discussion reminds me of something I read about how a tragic, too-soon ending can create a legend, but lingering on too long can damage it.
E.g.: What if Michael Jackson had died in 1987, right before Bad had been released? Think about it. No pesky crescendo of pedophile rumors, no deteriorating face, no weird situations Debbie Rowe and the like. What would have happened? He would have been a legend bigger than Elvis. His legacy would have been untouchable. Or if the Wachowski siblings had stopped with the first Matrix, their film would have been hailed as the greatest science-fiction film of the last decade.
So, what if Simpsons had been cancelled by a short-sighted Rupert Murdoch after their 10th season? They’d be remembered as the greatest show ever. Period. There wouldn’t have been the long decline of the last decade to taint the memory.
But would we have been better off? Would we prefer a disappointing follow-up to a massive success on the grounds that something is better than nothing, or would we prefer an abrupt end so as to make the accomplishments shine all the brighter?
Score = 10
In the case of almost anything, but especially the simpsons, I state a resounding yes.
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Your profile pics adds so much credence to this response.
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James Dean couldn't act, died after three movies, and became a legend. Marlon Brando could act infinitely better than James Dean, was better looking than him, and was in much better movies, but he lived to get fat and crazy and 80 years old and became a joke.
The Simpsons is Marlon Brando, and the 9th season was, say, Last Tango in Paris, and now it sits around mooching off of its much earlier success and is being sad and flabby. SHUT. IT. DOWN.
Score = 11
Good observation.
Another example: The best thing that ever happened to the Beatles was that they broke up. They didn't have time to burn out and become unfairly branded an 'oldies act'. See: the Beach Boys.
Score = 3
Yeah, that's what Wings was for.
Score = 1
So is this why people circle jerk around Arrested Development? I get that people think it was greatest thing on TV comedy wise in the modern era, but would we still being going all praise bukkake on it if they had let it linger for season after season? I think not.
Score = 7
I mean--plenty of us watched it while it was on and loveloveloveloveloved it, so I would disagree its getting canceled early is the sole reason for its cult popularity. But by the same token, it was already getting less funny in its third season and I was sort of relieved to be spared the inevitable disappointment. But THATSJUSTTHEWAYITISGUM.
Score = 5
of course by the third season they had already pretty much been cancelled, so they decided to just go full retard for the hell of it. . . MISTER F! . . .
Score = 4
Agreed, It's getting harder and harder to ignore things like this when watching seasons 3-10. Though I think this is probably one of the few things (in life) that can't be blamed on Rupert Murdoch. Which brings up a sad question: are the creators greedy, or do they really think they've been doing a great job for the last ten years? And which one of these is worse? Based on the commentaries I've listened to, it's probably a combination of both. They talk about how every generation of Simpsons fan thinks that their era is the best, how some people started hating it after season 5, after season 10, etc. But I don't understand how you can strip all your characters of dignity and still go on for another ten years thinking that you're doing a great job. But yeah, this picture of Marge is just terrible. Maybe they're doing an experiment to see how badly they can destroy an American staple, in which case, good job?
Score = 7
SUBQUESTION Is it better to burn out or to fade away?
Score = 9
I'm just going to assume that was a picture of Kurt Cobain.
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On the one hand, I am really over the Simpsons. But on the other hand, I am truly disappointed in Marge. She was often the moral compass for the family, maybe second to Lisa, but at least she had standards. I can't believe they would have her do this! I'm outraged! But, I'm still over the Simpsons.
Score = 14
i've watched every episode this season. i'll give the tried and true response given when people say the Simpsons have gone on too long and should be stopped..."it's not as great as it was, but it's still better than most of what's on TV." at this point i want them to continue just to be the longest running prime time show on TV. admittedly, i'm an old man. not NCIS old, but old.
Score = 4
I've also been watching it this season, and I don't get the whole "It's not amazing, but it's better than the rest" argument. I think people tend to "misunderestimate" [such a good word!] The Simpsons because the show has been going on for so long, and it only makes sense that it would start to go downhill. I still find myself cracking up and quoting lines the next day with my friends. It's got a reputation as a pretty mainstream, vanilla brand [Bart Simpson bedsheets, anyone?] but it really is so subversive and funny and weird.
Score = 5
i agree. there are moments that are so clever and funny. i think part of it is simply because you've got 20 years of character interaction and history to work from. there was a scene last season where Homer had to move out and it was a situation where Homer and Marge started dating again (sort of). they were at a kegger and he was trying to impress her and said in casual pick-up mode "You know...i was an astronaut for awhile. So many rules...". it was just perfect and sweet and the kind of thing most people don't bother to watch the show for anymore. i think in general the show is still one of the smartest thing on TV, even if it's not manic like it was when it was a toddler.
Score = 3
I stopped consistently watching this show when Principal Skinner wasn't really Principal Skinner.
Score = 2
I never missed one episode of this show up until a few years ago when my work schedule demanded it, then I switched to viewing it on the internet or DVRing it. I'll never call for it to be cancelled because it is such a comfortable piece of entertainment, but I won't be crushed when it does end either.Aside from my family, The Simpsons is the longest relationship I've ever had. "I'll see you Thursday. What? We have to meet on Sundays now? Okay, I'll move some things around and make it happen."
Score = 7
Of course one of the Flying Hellfish would say that. I seriously love The Simpsons and that, counting only seasons 1-9ish, it's probably the best show ever to be on TV. However, sometimes you just gotta be Travis and put down (cancel) your beloved dog (The Simpsons) after it's contracted rabies (a serious case of endless, pointless self-reference and phoning it in).
Score = 3
I'd push it to even Seasons 1-12. But I understand your point. Honestly, 30 Rock has become The Simpsons for me. The similarities in the writing are striking and you can tell the writers are big classic Simpsons fans. They speak the same language.
Score = 5
I would say Season 9 was the last good-to-great season. The season premiere of Season 10 when Homer went to New York was the first time I had ever been let down by the show. Yeah, it was funny...but it didn't have a point anymore. From that point on, the stories took a backseat to gags and the characters took a nosedive into self-parody (Lisa is sanctimonious...about everything! Marge is pathologically fastidious! Hilarious!).
Score = 1
Stupid me, I meant to say Season 8 was the last good one. Season 9 started with the New York episode.
Score = 1
UH-OHHHHHHHHH.
GABE IS COMPLAINING AGAIN!!!!1!!
WHO KNEW?!?!?!?
Score = -14
20 years? That's nothing. Playboy has been running 56 years and is still going even though I... sorry, I mean, "a friend of mine" can use the internet to get the same and better thing for free and "do the bartman" to "his" heart's delight. Talk about being irrelevant. Oh... sorry.. you read it for the "articles"... right...
(Did I just destroy my late childhood by cracking a terrible, terrible masturbation euphemism about The Simpsons? I am the worst)
Score = -11
I still watch. There are some stinkers, but it's not like bad new episodes make the great episodes not great. I'll watch it until it's canceled, and I'm not particularly eager for them to stop - wouldn't be terribly upset either, but consider that something like The Quagmire Show would take its place.
Score = 5
I honestly try not to compare the new seasons to the classic Simpsons episodes, and as a result, I manage to find them pretty entertaining.
Instead, I think you're better off comparing the recent output to the shitload of crappy animated shows running on tv - like American Dad, Family Guy, all that Nickelodeon nonsense and so on. From my point of view, the only cartoon show that comes close to the Simpsons - even now - is South Park (insert duh here).
Score = 4
Is it worse than Family Guy? They should probably end that inferior copy first.
I think, yeah, it's gone on too long, but also it's too late to dispute that and therefore impossible to give it a dignified retirement. So on it shall roll. And maybe we'll get the odd bit of fun out of it. (Like the guest appearance by Alan Moore...)
Score = 2
Score = 3
oh good lord. what a shitshow. this was supposed to be somewhere else. ignore me.
Score = 1
I don't know... one could argue that he's past his prime.
Score = 1
i know where it was supposed to go because i logged in to upvote your original comment. lots of love.
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Ugh. This has me Matt Groan-ing.
...This is even worse than that joke I just made.
Score = 6
Last season was good, this season seems pretty good too. Seasons 12-18 or so were pretty bad and I skipped a lot of them. I think the recent HD transition gave the show a kick in the ass, somehow.
Also, shame on TMZ, acting like they haven't seen Simpsons porn before.
Score = 1
According to the cover, this is a collector’s edition. (*shudders*)
Score = 0
On its absolute worst day the Simpsons is 100 times better than the best Family Guy episode.
I still watch the Simpsons and it's still funny.
Score = -1
They should have shut it down when Phil Hartman died.
Score = 1
That Playboy Bunny chair looks really uncomfortable! It seems if you tried to lean back and stretch the ears of the bunny would cut into your back.
Also, I know I'm complaining about a chair that doesn't exist, but you guys are complaining about a person going nude that doesn't exist! Let me complain too!
Score = 3
I'll throw my lot in with the "not as good as before, but still better than most TV" crowd.
Last truly classic episode = Sanitation Commissioner.
Score = 0
@practicallyInformation: "Not NCIS old, but old"... nice :)
I'm sorry, I must confess. The few times they've shown it, Marge has a very sexy back wth great curves, not girl bugs bunny sexy, but sexy nonetheless. As far as the "moral compass" argument, in today's girls gone wild world, it could be argued that being paid hansomely to pose for tasteful nude pictures sets a positive example, at least for Fox. Hell, even if she, Lenny and Carl starred in a remake of Deep Throat, I would still consider her a better moral compass than anyone on Fox News...
I'll be saving my Yuck response for the twins issue of Hustler featuring Patty and Selma!!!
Score = -1