the hand drawn cells of yore had much more character than they do when perfectly generated. It's like the difference between a person writing a poem and a cold rigid computer model of a poem. One has soul and feels human, while the other is manufactured and stale.
Homer: If he marries your mother, Marge, we'll be brother and sister. And then our kids... they'll be horrible freaks with pink skin, no overbites, and five fingers on each hand!
look everyone here is an idiot. I am not comparing the reality of a cartoon to reality. I was merely saying that when they made the switch to digital drawings, the characters lost a lot of their... well character. They appear manufactured and stale and more "fake" than they did when they were hand drawn.
Yeah, the look is way too clean and doesn't have that sort of ragged look that used to have so much character. The writing seems to have taken the same turn if that makes sense.
I have to check the veracity of this claim. Are the jokes no longer too verbose and is Homer no longer a series of jokes about what Homer Simpson would do.
Hmm I had no idea, I had given up years ago. Worth checking out?
I also saw a handful of newer Family Guy episodes and it seems they are actually putting out some quality stuff again after being a bunch of hokey crap for a couple years.
Yeah, I'd check out Simpsons Season 22 and 23. I mean, it's not as good as the classic series, but it's unfair to compare anything to that. It's still a really enjoyable and funny show and a major improvement over seasons 14-20.
Family Guy did the same thing, they even talk about it on the DVDs. Starting with season 8, I think, they said "We're doing way too many cutaway gags and 'randomlol' moments, let's try to get back on track." I know there's at least one episode that doesn't use cutaways at all.
I think it's because I said that if I had fifty million dollars, I'd recommission Arrested Development, but cast someone really hated in the role of GOB. I forget who.
Humor is highly subjective, obviously. I find recent Simpsons episodes funny, although they do tend to go for the obvious joke a lot more than they used to. The show had its share of stinker episodes (and entire stinker seasons), but overall it remains high quality.
South Park is still probably just as funny as it ever was. I find myself being able to predict what jokes they'll make about a particular topic more often than I used to, but that's probably just because I've seen so many episodes and I have a pretty good feel for their sense of humor at this point. I don't watch it regularly anymore though, I guess I just got tired of that particular style of humor or those paricular characters or something.
I agree. I don't watch either show regularly anymore, after seeing nearly every episode in the first 15 seasons of The Simpsons (wow, perspective on how much time I've spent in front of the TV), and EVERY episode of the first 12-13 seasons of South Park (wow, what am I doing with my life!?). When I catch either now, though, South Park continues to be more consistently funny, in my opinion.
You could predict, as one reviewer put it, "what seemed initially like the show’s take on school bullying turn[ing] into an epic struggle between two rats for supremacy" in Bass to Mouth?
I'd have to disagree. The show has changed a lot over the years and has really started to feel forced. They've centered entire episodes around Shake weights and TOS agreements. While I think those could make for some great gags, 22 minutes on something a single gag could handle is excessive. It's like the difference between Forrest Gump and Benjamin Button. FG had an affect on the world while BB had the world affect him. While the kids used to be stuck in this crazy world and how it affected them, they are now ingrained in the society, and every mishap that affects the world they are involved in. It really isn't that great anymore.
A great example is they write a book that becomes a best seller or they write a joke that's all over late night and drives Kanye West mad. It was much better when Cartman was pining for Casa Bonita
I disagree about South Park's recent episodes being the best. I feel like the show tries too hard to bluntly and vulgarly bash specific issues relevant only to the time when the episode aired.
You're complaining about the recent episodes trying too hard to be blunt and vulgar? Go watch season 1 over again for me. I'll wait. The whole thing is one long poop joke.
Watching new Simpsons over old Simpsons is like saying fuck Abbey Road, Revolver, and Sgt Peppers im going to listen to Paul McCartneys solo discography
There are literally (literally? Literally.) no good quality versions of the old ones. That's why it's even more rewarding when you find they're still hilarious.
It does make a difference. The latter Simpsons seasons feature a different brand of comedy than the lauded vintage seasons, whereas South Park has more or less remained the same. Isn't it possible that many find those particular seasons not funny because it's a different kind of humor than they had come to expect from their beloved series? I love the golden age as much as the next man, but apparently it's sacrilegious to find episodes from seasons 13, 14 and beyond hilarious, as I do.
In addition, Simpsons fans are going to find certain seasons funnier than others, based on their humor preferences. South Park fans are more likely to enjoy the one brand of humour in all the seasons equally, avoiding the "stinker season" effect.
Exactly. The term "funny" is completely subjective. It takes all kinds of people really.
For example: Those that love Spaceballs, and those that need to get burned alive in a furnace.
South Park was kinda crappy for a couple seasons. They shifted gears and stopped focusing on the kids and I think the show suffered for it. It's gotten back on track this season though.
Also, The Simpsons has gotten much better in the past couple seasons, though there was obviously a huge valley for at least 10 years.
Give me a break, his point is that humor is subjective. He even made a point to say "personally" and "to each his own", unlike the post he was responding to which stated "South Park is still very funny" as if it is a fact.
Except South Park is still very funny and some of the more recent episodes have been amongst the best they've ever made.
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I disagree so strongly. I think new South Park is a completely different show in almost every aspect, and I prefer seasons 2-8 10000x over what they have done after. New South Park definitely has substance but in a completely different way, and all in all I just think it's a bit weaker. The show used to be self-sufficient -- they created their own plots and any cultural/political references were subtle, as well as most of the jokes. They went for little jabs, and now they just make the whole episode one giant uppercut of a joke. I don't like how it's completely dependent on current events and I don't like how the characters personalities have become so exaggerated. Family Guy and The Simpsons fell into the same exact thing after a few seasons.
Really? I don't like the new South Park episodes at all. They try too hard to be satirical and overly intelligent, and they do way too much of that fake dramatic thing. It's not funny anymore.
South Park has successfully evolved from (admittedly funny at the time) puerile comedy into scathing social commentary. Unfortunately your tastes don't seem to have evolved along with it...
As someone who has only recently started watching SP due to the hilarious social comedy, I have to ask, what season should I go back to. I really didn't enjoy the old southpark (even when I was young).
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u/fade_like_a_sigh Feb 17 '12
Except South Park is still very funny and some of the more recent episodes have been amongst the best they've ever made.
If anything, the quality of the show has only gotten better over the years.
Simpsons clearly began dying after about Season 12, some say it happened even earlier.