Honestly most John Swartzwelder episodes until he quit the show after season 15 are not that much worse on average than the ones he wrote when the show was still consistently good - they just get less frequent.
@“2501”#p47904 Thank you. You have jogged my memory. Here's a good John Swartzwelder interview that folks might like to read.
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/john-swartzwelder-sage-of-the-simpsons
@“whatsarobot”#p47903 tbh all the lines I remember require the context of the entire scene to actually be funny. It’s a story-driven episode!
@“2501”#p47906 Alright, fair enough. I know what that's like.
Also this is a bit of a tangent but a minor pet peeve of mine has always been people complaining about certain episodes like the Armand Tamzarian one “ruining” the “canon” of the show. Like, what’s the “canonical” explanation for Bart and all his friends being in fourth grade for the entire duration of the 1990s?
@“2501”#p47912 In their defense, this was when the concept for each character was well defined enough that throwing in odd, one-off details like this could legitimately give fans of the show enough to be upset over. In Skinner's case, the premise for his character was contrasting his stiff, by the books, almost servile demeanor as an elementary school principal against the hardened Vietnam vet he once was and could still be when the situation called for it, so adding the street punk story on top of that is redundant at best and gimmicky at worst. And at least for me (in retrospect), the episode always felt like the writers were complaining about a nonexistent problem they made up for the sake of complaining about it, or like they were complaining about narrative trends in other shows, regardless of any relevance they might have had to this one.
@“2501”#p47902 that's the episdoe where the simpsons invented rocket league
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@“Moon”#p47897 That's an odd way of phrasing “bring back squigglevision!”
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dr_katz_professional_therapist.jpeg
…but I wholeheartedly agree
@“rejj”#p47916 I'd prefer “squiggle vision” to the way any episode of “Archer” just has people adjust their posture at irregular Intervals during a long scene
@“Moon”#p47919 That in particular is really boring to watch. It almost feels like it'd be more interesting as a radio play at that point.
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@“Moon”#p47919 rejj I’d prefer “squiggle vision” to the way any episode of “Archer” just has people adjust their posture at irregular Intervals during a long scene
And then abusing the shit out of motion blur when the action scenes come. Or really, any scene that involves full body movement.
@“Moon”#p47919 I think Archer is kind of a South Park case where the animation budget got too good and it actually lessened the visual appeal/comedic value of the show’s aesthetic which came from its crudeness. Like, the stiffness of the characters (contrasted with the detail of the images) in Frisky Dingo was hilarious and utilized to the fullest. Sealab 2021 and Aqua Teen Hunger Force got some amazing gags out of their limited means, etc.
Just in case it wasn’t clear, I love(d) Dr Katz and thought squiggle vision was rad
@“Moon”#p47897 I feel like recent american animation trends have gotten to a good hybrid zone - Titmouse studio for example! The venture bros definitely lands in a good space for all that I think.
I‘m one of those sacrilegious Simpsons die hards that think the greatness lasts through season 12. So I think there are plenty of great ones in 11 and 12 including (though not including those already mentioned):
Behind the Laughter (would have been a perfect end to the show)
Brothers Little Helper (who wants to see some dingers!?)
Guess Who’s Coming to Criticize Dinner (even if just for Santa‘s Little Helper saying “Chewy?”)
Grift of the Magi (a few prawns short of a galaxy)
The Computer Wore Menace Shoes (maybe I just like how weird it gets)
If you need one outside of the 12 years of greatness, season 13’s Weekend at Burnsie's is pretty great. Homer smokes weed as a premise has some pretty obvious jokes, but it still works
@“zm1704”#p50483 Nice! I‘m counting Weekend at Burnsie’s toward our season. Thanks.
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@“Gaagaagiins”#p50605 Once in a great while, a meme comes along and touches your soul…
simpsons s33e11 has marge & homer eating crisps [potato chips] over the credits. simpsons food foley is one of the most egregious achievements in all of human media, and this credits sequence was the closes i've come to spewing as a response to something in my own television.
misophonia is real and it might kill me!
@“rootfifthoctave”#p120515 that's completely insane because i literally watched that episode two nights ago. did you also see it recommended in that one “the simpsons are actually good again!” article that was making the rounds?
the episode where they're lost and naked in the woods, right?
anyway i also turned the tv off with a "harrumph" during that end credits sequence. infuriating for multiple reasons.