It'd be funny if they edited all the episodes down into 10 minute halves and played them all out of order. Thats kind of how I felt when the show first came on, like I was always missing part of the backstory.
In regards to family guy ratings, Adult Swim seems to be aware that they're doing their audience a kindness by not just filling the entire lineup with them. It's far and away their top-rated show still.
The Adult Swim Family Guy ratings are the thing that got it un-cancelled all those years ago. Adult Swim viewers love them some Family Guy.
I have no love for the product they gave us post-cancellation.
It was definitely not the Family Guy we were getting before.
When Family Guy came back they catered to the loudest fans since those voices were in part the reason why they got revived. Those fans were the insufferable types who ate up the "remember when" jokes and loved seeing Meg get dumped on. When the writers shift their audience like this the show always gets worse for everyone except the people who are being catered to. I'd argue that modern MLP: FiM is suffering from something similar, where the writers are thinking too much about pleasing their adult fanbase while writing episodes leading to them feeling much more hollow/shallow than the ones that got people interested in the first place.
In Futurama's case they didn't acknowledge how much the restrictions of being on broadcast TV helped them with their storycrafting so when they went to movies/cable and had no filter, they put out a bunch of things just because they could, never questioning if they should. This also covers the weird increase in the amount of topical jokes that were already outdated before the episode even aired. From what I've seen of American Dad's TBS season they might end up going down this road as well.
Yeah, creative restrictions often force writers to think harder about the writing.
As opposed to having unlimited freedom to do what you want, which is what led to the Star Wars prequels.
Goatmon on
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CokomonOur butts are worth fighting for!Registered Userregular
Whenever discussion of creative freedom vs creative constraint comes up, I always remember how much worse Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" was compared to Nickelodeon era Ren & Stimpy.
The Adult Swim Family Guy ratings are the thing that got it un-cancelled all those years ago. Adult Swim viewers love them some Family Guy.
I have no love for the product they gave us post-cancellation.
It was definitely not the Family Guy we were getting before.
When Family Guy came back they catered to the loudest fans since those voices were in part the reason why they got revived. Those fans were the insufferable types who ate up the "remember when" jokes and loved seeing Meg get dumped on. When the writers shift their audience like this the show always gets worse for everyone except the people who are being catered to. I'd argue that modern MLP: FiM is suffering from something similar, where the writers are thinking too much about pleasing their adult fanbase while writing episodes leading to them feeling much more hollow/shallow than the ones that got people interested in the first place.
In Futurama's case they didn't acknowledge how much the restrictions of being on broadcast TV helped them with their storycrafting so when they went to movies/cable and had no filter, they put out a bunch of things just because they could, never questioning if they should. This also covers the weird increase in the amount of topical jokes that were already outdated before the episode even aired. From what I've seen of American Dad's TBS season they might end up going down this road as well.
It's harder for FIM to run into that issue because it's still a merchandise vehicle first and foremost, so the big bosses will never let them go whole hog to embrace the adult fandom. There have been some mediocre episodes this season (the recent Rarity trilogy comes to mind), but that had little to do with pandering. Episode 100 was all about pandering, of course, but they weren't even trying to tell a story there, so that's a different matter.
Futurama's increase in topical humor was only part of it. The iPhone episode was still decently well-written except for the way-too-pointed "Boil named Susan" joke. I'd argue the weakness came in the Fry/Leela arc becoming too soppy and infecting every story. The "animal documentary" episode, for instance, kept getting undermined by having to put Fry/Leela stuff in there.
Of course, other episodes used it very powerfully, like the "machine that goes forward in time" episode, so it was a bit of give-and-get there too.
Whenever discussion of creative freedom vs creative constraint comes up, I always remember how much worse Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" was compared to Nickelodeon era Ren & Stimpy.
Oh god, that was a goddamn tragedy. I'd take the post-Krikfalusi episodes over what he produced for the revival.
The Adult Swim Family Guy ratings are the thing that got it un-cancelled all those years ago. Adult Swim viewers love them some Family Guy.
I have no love for the product they gave us post-cancellation.
It was definitely not the Family Guy we were getting before.
When Family Guy came back they catered to the loudest fans since those voices were in part the reason why they got revived. Those fans were the insufferable types who ate up the "remember when" jokes and loved seeing Meg get dumped on. When the writers shift their audience like this the show always gets worse for everyone except the people who are being catered to. I'd argue that modern MLP: FiM is suffering from something similar, where the writers are thinking too much about pleasing their adult fanbase while writing episodes leading to them feeling much more hollow/shallow than the ones that got people interested in the first place.
In Futurama's case they didn't acknowledge how much the restrictions of being on broadcast TV helped them with their storycrafting so when they went to movies/cable and had no filter, they put out a bunch of things just because they could, never questioning if they should. This also covers the weird increase in the amount of topical jokes that were already outdated before the episode even aired. From what I've seen of American Dad's TBS season they might end up going down this road as well.
It's harder for FIM to run into that issue because it's still a merchandise vehicle first and foremost, so the big bosses will never let them go whole hog to embrace the adult fandom. There have been some mediocre episodes this season (the recent Rarity trilogy comes to mind), but that had little to do with pandering. Episode 100 was all about pandering, of course, but they weren't even trying to tell a story there, so that's a different matter.
Futurama's increase in topical humor was only part of it. The iPhone episode was still decently well-written except for the way-too-pointed "Boil named Susan" joke. I'd argue the weakness came in the Fry/Leela arc becoming too soppy and infecting every story. The "animal documentary" episode, for instance, kept getting undermined by having to put Fry/Leela stuff in there.
Of course, other episodes used it very powerfully, like the "machine that goes forward in time" episode, so it was a bit of give-and-get there too.
The Futurama return was very hit&miss with some episodes that were definitely on the low end for the series, but yes, the highs were worth it IMO. I didn't mind the Fry/Leela bits mainly because I felt them resetting their relationship over and over for the first few seasons was lame as hell, so seeing an actual ongoing relationship was great.
And call me soppy, but I thought the finale was perfect.
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CokomonOur butts are worth fighting for!Registered Userregular
The problem with the Fry/Leela relationship stuff was that the Comedy Central run forgot they were a couple until the second season.
The Simpsons is really doubling down on the "pretending we're making a big character change, and then flushing it down the toilet in the final minutes" thing this season.
It's like they thought about having a patty and Selma episode where one or both of them developed as characters but couldn't think of enough dialogue so they padded it out with that stupid Maggie subplot and then just gave up on all of it anyway.
This age-old sentiment of not letting the Simpsons characters evolve really needs to go away.
It's only getting more and more antiquated as other shows begin to embrace continuity and change. South Park now references events throughout each season, which has only made it funnier (like the whole Lorde subplot). Steven Universe is a 10 minute episodic cartoon that features actual character development, where characters actually grow in subtle-yet-consistent ways and previous events are not forgotten.
You'd think after 30 years they would be allowed to experiment even a little with The Simpsons.
I think Groening still has a lot of sway on where the writing goes for the show. Having listened to my share of Simpsons/Futurama commentary, he has a lot of idiosyncratic views on how a show should be run. Not saying they're bad or good, but he likes things how he likes them.
This episode was proof that Patty & Selma have evolved over the years. Patty became gay (or was always that way. The episode where Skinner courted her had her be a "committed bachelorette"), Selma hit menopause and adopted a Chinese baby. Although i agree they should have had Patty quitting stick, and done anything other than that weird Maggie subplot.
This episode was proof that Patty & Selma have evolved over the years. Patty became gay (or was always that way. The episode where Skinner courted her had her be a "committed bachelorette"), Selma hit menopause and adopted a Chinese baby. Although i agree they should have had Patty quitting stick, and done anything other than that weird Maggie subplot.
That's not evolving it's adding adjectives to a character and essentially ignoring what you've added.
Evolving would be Selma moving out of the apartment and finding a new life then following up on that not resetting it. Maybe have Patty exploring being an out lesbian in her late forties.
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This episode was proof that Patty & Selma have evolved over the years. Patty became gay (or was always that way. The episode where Skinner courted her had her be a "committed bachelorette"), Selma hit menopause and adopted a Chinese baby. Although i agree they should have had Patty quitting stick, and done anything other than that weird Maggie subplot.
That's not evolving it's adding adjectives to a character and essentially ignoring what you've added.
Evolving would be Selma moving out of the apartment and finding a new life then following up on that not resetting it. Maybe have Patty exploring being an out lesbian in her late forties.
Or hey, when she admitted she gives Homer shit because she's jealous of Marge's relationship how about not just take that right away and have her start to be nicer to Homer.
They have gotten nicer over the years, though i don't think that was part of any grand plan. They were nastily vindictive in early seasons in a way that hasn't happened in the last 7-10 years.
The last really bad thing I can remember the twins doing was the time they kidnapped Homer before his re-wedding with Marge to try and break up their marriage, how long ago was that?
The last permanent status quo change I can think of was Ned and Edna's pairing and before that Comicbook Guy pairing up with the waifu invented for him. Adjacent to that is the Sideshow Bob saga which is full of continuity that's fully impossible at this point.
They have gotten nicer over the years, though i don't think that was part of any grand plan. They were nastily vindictive in early seasons in a way that hasn't happened in the last 7-10 years.
In Simpson's Roasting on an open fire they are so mean to Homer Lisa basically says " Listen he's my Dad. We love him and he tries. So stop with this"
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I find the timing funny since I watched that episode yesterday (it was great).
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Was it not the same with Futurama? Shame what happened with that show, though.
Moved to Comedy Central and got 3 more seasons?
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I have no love for the product they gave us post-cancellation.
It was definitely not the Family Guy we were getting before.
When Family Guy came back they catered to the loudest fans since those voices were in part the reason why they got revived. Those fans were the insufferable types who ate up the "remember when" jokes and loved seeing Meg get dumped on. When the writers shift their audience like this the show always gets worse for everyone except the people who are being catered to. I'd argue that modern MLP: FiM is suffering from something similar, where the writers are thinking too much about pleasing their adult fanbase while writing episodes leading to them feeling much more hollow/shallow than the ones that got people interested in the first place.
In Futurama's case they didn't acknowledge how much the restrictions of being on broadcast TV helped them with their storycrafting so when they went to movies/cable and had no filter, they put out a bunch of things just because they could, never questioning if they should. This also covers the weird increase in the amount of topical jokes that were already outdated before the episode even aired. From what I've seen of American Dad's TBS season they might end up going down this road as well.
As opposed to having unlimited freedom to do what you want, which is what led to the Star Wars prequels.
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It's harder for FIM to run into that issue because it's still a merchandise vehicle first and foremost, so the big bosses will never let them go whole hog to embrace the adult fandom. There have been some mediocre episodes this season (the recent Rarity trilogy comes to mind), but that had little to do with pandering. Episode 100 was all about pandering, of course, but they weren't even trying to tell a story there, so that's a different matter.
Futurama's increase in topical humor was only part of it. The iPhone episode was still decently well-written except for the way-too-pointed "Boil named Susan" joke. I'd argue the weakness came in the Fry/Leela arc becoming too soppy and infecting every story. The "animal documentary" episode, for instance, kept getting undermined by having to put Fry/Leela stuff in there.
Of course, other episodes used it very powerfully, like the "machine that goes forward in time" episode, so it was a bit of give-and-get there too.
Oh god, that was a goddamn tragedy. I'd take the post-Krikfalusi episodes over what he produced for the revival.
And call me soppy, but I thought the finale was perfect.
Twitter: Cokomon | dA: Cokomon | Tumblr: Cokomon-art | XBL / NNID / Steam: Cokomon
Matt Groeing was actively opposed to Fry and Leela being in a stable relationship
It's only getting more and more antiquated as other shows begin to embrace continuity and change. South Park now references events throughout each season, which has only made it funnier (like the whole Lorde subplot). Steven Universe is a 10 minute episodic cartoon that features actual character development, where characters actually grow in subtle-yet-consistent ways and previous events are not forgotten.
You'd think after 30 years they would be allowed to experiment even a little with The Simpsons.
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That's not evolving it's adding adjectives to a character and essentially ignoring what you've added.
Evolving would be Selma moving out of the apartment and finding a new life then following up on that not resetting it. Maybe have Patty exploring being an out lesbian in her late forties.
She actually did that last one.
The last permanent status quo change I can think of was Ned and Edna's pairing and before that Comicbook Guy pairing up with the waifu invented for him. Adjacent to that is the Sideshow Bob saga which is full of continuity that's fully impossible at this point.
In Simpson's Roasting on an open fire they are so mean to Homer Lisa basically says " Listen he's my Dad. We love him and he tries. So stop with this"
Not sure why, but here we are.
Critical Failures - Havenhold Campaign • August St. Cloud (Human Ranger)
They'd never do a live broadcast of Doraemon, I tell you what!
It's sort of like this old show from Australia:
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The amusing part of this is the existing spoof-live episode of The Cleveland Show.
I don't hate myself, no.
Wow, they REALLY haven't been advertising the thing. Looks like a complete burn-off.
You seem surprised
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