“Here’s a good job at the fireworks factory.” – Lisa Simpson
“Those perfectionists? Forget it.” – Homer Simpson
Happy 30th anniversary to “Homer’s Odyssey”!
“Here’s a good job at the fireworks factory.” – Lisa Simpson
“Those perfectionists? Forget it.” – Homer Simpson
Happy 30th anniversary to “Homer’s Odyssey”!
“You know, Homer, you’ve always been such a good provider, but when we got married, Mr. Berger promised I could come back to my old job any time I wanted.” – Marge Simpson
“You think you can still do that kind of work?” – Homer Simpson
“Sure, you never forget. It’s just like riding a bicycle.” – Marge Simpson
“Hey, mama, where’s my fries already?” – Otto
“That’s it, Bart! Why can’t you be more like, uh . . .” – Mrs. Krabappel
“Us, Mrs. Krabappel?” – Sherri & Terri
“Yes, Sherri and Terri. They know how to behave.” – Mrs. Krabappel
Happy belated birthday, Russi Taylor!
“Can I pick the song?” – Bart Simpson
“No. The song will be John Henry Was a Steel Drivin’ Man.” – Mrs. Krabappel
Frinkiac.com, the lovable rascals who made creating Simpsons screen grabs far easier than I ever could, have now added .gif support. It’s just you and me now, lock of hair.
“Hey, Bart, our dad says your dad is incompetent.” – Sherri
“What does incompetent mean?” – Bart Simpson
“It means he spends more time yakking and scarfing down donuts than doing his job.” – Terri
“Oh, okay, I thought you were putting him down.” – Bart Simpson
Happy birthday Russi Taylor!
Make no mistake, there’s a lot of really weird and wonky animation in the first season. I used to find it really off-putting, but now I’ve learned to accept it, and it actually makes these shows all the more charming to me. Just as the show was trying to find its footing with the writing, the same could be said about the animation. There’s a lot of weird shit in this show, a few moments in particular I want to highlight.
I love the execution of Nuclear Energy: Our Misunderstood Friend; the designs, the limited, jerky animation, the scratched up film, it’s fantastic. Also it’s the first and only time we’ve seen Smilin’ Joe Fission, though he may have showed up on a logo somewhere, we’ve never seen another filmstrip featuring him. Pity.
Much focus is made on black Smithers, but here’s a pretty glaring animation gaffe. Wes Archer brought this up in the commentary and everyone laughed about it.
Nice quick door slamming montage of Homer’s failed job interviews. I love the shitty drawing of this guy, with dot eyes like Akbar and Jeff in Life in Hell. I also like the implication that Homer went up to the drive-thru window to ask for a job.
Another quality background. There were a lot of washed out gradient walls like this early on, they look pretty terrible. The exclamation point on the sign is great, though. Must Be 21!
I love how when Homer signs Bart’s report card, he’s not even looking at it. Then when the kids walk away, his arms just falls to the ground and the pencil rolls out of it, his expression never changing and his vacant stare never diverting from the ceiling. By moving as little as possible, we see that he’s a truly broken man. Also, more great portraits, this time one for Marge, and another for her hair.
There’s so many insane background characters in this show, especially toward the end at the power plant rally. I love the guy with the red superhero mask, and the really fat guy with the humungous smile. How come those guys never took off?
One strange but lovable piece of animation that sticks with me is during Homer’s internal monologue of whether to take Burns’ deal, as he goes back and forth with being able to support the family and stick to his principles… then notices how big Burns’ desk is and his clean shirt. He’s at the verge of a meltdown when Burns urges him to make a decision, to which Homer calmly responds, “What the hey, I’ll take the job.” Fantastic.
“We’re gonna make you sing, Bart Simpson.” – Sherri
“Yeah, Bart Simpson, we’re gonna make you sing.” – Terri
When “Homer’s Odyssey” was first broadcast, and The Simpsons was considered just this side of Satanic cults by much of mainstream culture, one of the best things about it was the way it mocked success. People who did well in Springfield didn’t always deserve it, and even the ones who did were often portrayed as insufferable jackasses. The most glaring example of that is easily Flanders, who is a genuinely nice guy but who is also grotesquely inhuman in the way he is immune to the humdrum failures and humiliations of ordinary people.
Sherri and Terri, though much less prominent than Flanders, fill a similar role. They are goody two shoes; teacher’s pets who are plenty willing to abuse their favored status among the adults to torment Bart Simpson. They are proof that the kids who get good grades, do their homework on time, and never get detention can be just as mean and troublemaking as anyone else.
Just as bad, both they and their father, who’s one of Homer’s bosses at the nuclear plant, aren’t above using their favored status to shame and taunt people below them. In short, it isn’t enough for their family to be better, they have to rub it in. Society’s betters are just as bad as you are.
Like Milk Duds, they’re poison on the inside.
This idea of universal mockery is one of the things that differentiates The Simpsons from regular comedy, then and now. Just having Homer crash his cart and get fired in front of his son is funny. But even in Season 1, that wasn’t enough. Homer and Bart losing is much better when we not only see other people looking down on them for their failure, but also the way that the people looking down on them are selfish jerks too.
From the time they deliberately misinform Bart about US history to when they narc on Milhouse’s secret birthday party all the way up to trying to make Moe sing the million dollar birthday fries song twice, Sherri and Terri enjoy picking on people who aren’t as competent and put together as they are. They have a mean streak, and they’re perfectly willing to exploit the fact that they’re twins to express it.
The twins enjoy the suffering and humiliation of others. Just like the rest of us.
Unlike Zombie Simpsons, which frequently has characters show up in a scene for no reason other than to spout some piece of hacktacular dialogue, The Simpsons made even very minor characters like Sherri and Terri into real people. It understood that even characters who only get a few lines can be recognizable people, and that no one is too minor to have some funny flaws.
“Beer. Now there’s a temporary solution.” – Homer Simpson
Good morning and welcome to a special, unannounced, Simpsons Day Beer-Simpsons marathon! For the last two years I’ve been stuck at work on Simpsons Day. That resulted in a lot of YouTube and regular posts. Of those, the 1989 Groening interview on Letterman is probably my favorite. He’s wretchedly adorable in his nervous, pre-fame earnestness. (The embedding’s been disabled in the two years since I posted it, but you can click through to YouTube to see it.) For Simpsons Day this year my butt is planted right where it belongs: squarely in front of my television.
As with previous marathons, I’ll be drinking one delicious, cheap domestic beer per episode and posting updates along the way. The pause and reverse buttons will be employed so I can get quotes or screen grabs, but the fast forward button will not be touched. I’ll try to keep an eye on the comments, but I make no promises on that score. Let’s get started, and happy Simpsons Day!
1. Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire
2. Bart the Genius
3. Homer’s Odyssey
4. There’s No Disgrace Like Home
5. Bart the General
6. Moaning Lisa
7. The Call of the Simpsons
8. The Telltale Head
9. Life on the Fast Lane
10. Homer’s Night Out
11. The Crepes of Wrath
12. Krusty Gets Busted
13. Some Enchanted Evening
“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed councilmen, boys and girls, retired people with nothing better to do, danger comes in many, many forms, from the dinosaurs that tormented our caveman ancestors . . .” – Homer Simpson
“Our city is under siege by a graffiti vandal known as ‘El Barto’. Police artists have a composite sketch of the culprit, if anyone has any information, please contact us immediately.” – Chief Wiggum
“Cool, man.” – Bart Simpson
We have two links to some awesome Homer graffiti this week. One is just random, the other was apparently commissioned by the building owner, but has now been painted over. Also, we have a 2-year-old Simpsons fan, legal advice from the show, vintage bootleg t-shirt images, illegal hallucinogens, and some excellent usage.
Enjoy.
Just What Are Diapers For? – Awesome 2-year-old picks up one of Bart’s favorite expressions.
My 25 Favorite Bart Simpson Chalkboard Punishments (Jesse James) – Mostly good stuff here.
Are you saying Boo or Boo-urns? – A list of useful Simpsons quotes, like the link above, it’s mostly good.
Best tool ever: Simpsons used to teach law – A non-profit group in Canada has created a paper that uses the show to explain legal concepts to high schoolers. You can view it here.
Restore Stephen Baldwin by giving him your money – I’m 99% sure this isn’t a joke, but as soon as I saw it, all I could think was “Let’s Save Tony Orlando’s House!”. The video really has to be seen to be, uh, believed.
Black Bart Simpsons – Three bootleg images from 90s t-shirts. I don’t think I’d ever seen the one on the right before.
Red Lantern Maggie Simpson – Cool fan made Maggie drawing.
Interview with Character Designer Dan Haskett – Haskett did some of the character designs for the show, this is a long interview with him about modern animation in Hollywood.
springfield’s finest… – Neat wood carving of Wiggum, Lou and Eddie. Downside, they’re on a surfboard (which I think was from one of those abortions in Season 12.)
Gary Oftedahl: Homer Simpson and me…Really! – Excellent usage (including a quote) expounding on the Homer Simpson instinct in all of us.
Simply The Best Post #30 (Television Shows) – This is a list of the top five television shows, Simpsons is #3. I don’t really care about that, but this baffles me:
I haven’t loved the last six or seven seasons of the show but I’ve only randomly watched episodes and really do feel as if it’s still better than most of the bullshit that’s on television these days. I really do hope that The Simpsons will go another 20 years.
That’s not something you do not see very often, someone who doesn’t watch Zombie Simpsons but still defends it.
Square Hotel’s Homer Simpson Homage Coming Down – A cool looking graffiti Homer has been painted over. You can see the original here. He’s got the dead eyes!
It all adds up in the end – Forfty!
Lego Homer – Exactly what it says it is.
The Most Boring Event in American Sports – I’m a football fan and I don’t think I’ve ever made it past the first hour of watching the NFL Draft. Once the first few picks are off the board, it gets very boring very quickly, though it is nice to check back in every hour or so to see how it’s going. Regardless, this is excellent usage:
Announcer:”We now return you to exciting 15th round action at the Canadian Football League Draft.”
Analyst: “And so, the Saskatchewan Roughriders, who scored only four rogues all last season…
The quote is dead-on and apt.
“The map is not the territory”… – This is an interesting post on perceptions, reality and old books. Near the bottom is something I did not know:
As we endeavor (but not too hard) to avoid the fallacy of misplaced concreteness, we might recall that it was on this date in 1987 (44 years to the day after “Bicycle Day,” the day that Dr. Albert Hofmann, the discoverer of LSD, deliberately took the hallucinogen for the first time) that The Simpsons debuted, as a short within The Tracey Ullman Show.
Mmmm, LSD.
Why My Mum Should Reconsider Telling My Dad Not To Drink Beer… – YouTube:
The Hulu crawl at the bottom is a little annoying though.
Game-Day: A Beer brewed by 7-11…Would you buy/drink it? – Scroll down for a sweet Duff Beer poster, vintage 1997.
Homer Simpson graffiti – Finally, thanks go to Flickr user duncan for snapping the image and putting it up with a Creative Commons license:
"Moe, I’m a little low on funds. Do you think you could cover me just this once?" – Homer Simpson
"No. Sorry." – Moe
"Why not? I think after all these years I deserve an explanation." – Homer Simpson
"I don’t think you’re ever gonna get another job and be able to pay me back." – Moe
"Oh." – Homer Simpson
"Don’t worry, we’re still friends." – Moe
Happy (one week belated) 20th anniversary to “Homer’s Odyssey”!
“Hi there energy eaters! I’m Smiling Joe Fission your atomic tour guide to the strange and exciting world of nuclear power!” – Smiling Joe Fission
There is an absolutely awesome science video from 1953 (produced by General Electric!) about atomic power at boingboing. It features Dr. Atom (at left) in a number of different roles and watching it I couldn’t help but think of Smiling Joe Fission. Videos (or, more likely, film strips) like these used to be a dime a dozen in elementary schools and watching the original from 1953 was really neat in an over the top atomic propaganda sort of way.
I can’t hide it, digging into Season 12 has sapped my will to live. Here’s your much abbreviated Friday Link Dump. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to stick my head into a bucket of battery acid and yearn for death.
Are Freshmen Necessary? – This is oblique Simpsons usage made cromulent by the link:
If there’s previewing being done, it goes without saying that the previewers are wondering aloud which ACC freshmen will make the biggest splash: Derrick Favors, John Henson, Ryan Kelly, Michael Snaer, or, as Homer Simpson might say, someone else?
The link is to “Homer the Vigilante”. Nice.
LET THEM EAT CAKE – Ponder this:
Another prominent American cake lover is Homer Simpson. In the Simpson’s episode in which Homer ends up in bed with a gorgeous female who is very much not his wife they climax together when having copious food sex. “Desserts aren’t always right,” says the yellow woman when their stomachs are about to burst. “But they are so sweet,” says the yellow guy who just can’t get enough of cherry pie.
It’s misquoted, but as it’s a French blog it’s possible that it is the correct quote on the Francais version of the show. Still, I don’t think they had food sex in either version.
Fish Bulb – It’s a t-shirt:
Modern Classic has created a tee called “Fish Bulb” that shows the Matsumura Fishworks logo on the front and the Tamaribuchi Heavy Manufacturing Concern logo on the back.
Cool.
The Simpsons coming to Sunderland – People in Simpsons costumes are coming to Sunderland, England on the 30th.
NFL Season Preview Part 1 – Poor usage:
Oakland Raiders – To quote the philosopher Homer (Simpson): “I’ve seen teams suck before, but these are the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked!”
This was correctly quoted by that Cubs fan last week, you can read the full quote there.
I Think My Logic Is Beyond Reproach – This is a rather long discussion of, amongst other things, pop culture popularity, atheism and Godfather III. In classic “lazy blogger” fashion I didn’t read all the back and forths, just this post. Here’s the relevant part:
It’s hard for me to explain the greatness of The Simpsons beyond “It’s funny” or The Brothers Karamazov beyond “It’s…about…everything.”
I’ll say right now that “Brothers Karamazov” is one of the best books I’ve ever read. But I can explain the greatness of The Simpsons way, way, way beyond “It’s funny”. If you’d like to know more, please visit www.deadhomersociety.wordpress.com.
The Tale of the Tape: Know your enemy – Discussing the need for enemies he perfectly quotes Lisa:
Perhaps the best quote on the matter comes from Lisa Simpson: “Everybody needs a nemesis. Sherlock Holmes had his Dr. Moriarty, Mountain Dew has its Mellow Yellow.”
Why’d he end it there? “Even Maggie has that baby with the one eyebrow.” Still, excellent usage.
DVD review: Simpsons Twelfth Season has ode to Comic Book Guy – It’s a relatively positive review of the DVD set and Season 12 in general. Observe:
Beyond that, CBG stars in his own episode in this set. It’s titled Worst Episode Ever, but that’s in reference to a bad Itchy & Scratchy cartoon that CBG hates, not this show, which is one of the better episodes. Indeed, it really lays out the quiet desperation of CBG’s life, which takes a turn when he starts dating, let’s just say, an older woman. And she’s no Demi Moore to his Ashton Kutcher.
Yes, things continue to be twisted in Springfield, which is just how we like it.
“Better”? It’s impossible for anything in Season 12 to be “better” than anything else because the entire fucking thing registers at -273.15C.
Like I needed yet another reason to stay in on the weekends. The Simpsons Season 12 / Gossip Girl Season 2 on DVD – The only reason Season 12 should keep you in on the weekend is on account of depression related alcohol poisoning. Fuck Season 12.
The Simpsons Fail – Once again I get to finish things up with another blogger who agrees with us:
Was just watching the Simpsons. New episode. I just remembered why i stopped watching it. The new episodes suck, i don’t know about you, but the only bits that are funny, is re used material. And it’s completely gone from funy oone liners and politics, to a really bad version of slapstick, where everyone seems to die, and nothing happens. 90% of the jokes were the same jokes as it had been all episode. ‘Oh HAHA! look! cheif wiggum isn’t a good policeman! They havn’t done that one before!’
Oh, indeed.
The Mob Has Spoken