The Simpsons Seasons on Blu-ray

[Space_Butler]

Originally Posted by Blu-News

Hello,

Just wanted to post my thoughts. Those on the fence, please go with the Blu-ray version. Fox Home Entertainment is a studio which doesn't give very many second chances, if something sells badly they will not continue to release.

This is standard-definition material presented on Blu-ray disc. If you would like The Simpsons to continue to release on Blu-ray as well as other standard-def shows, this would be an important title to purchase and show your support.

That is all.

Agreed. The only reason this is getting a release is because Season 20 sold really well. However, this is the first season of non-HD content on a blu-ray being released, and if it doesn't sell very well, they'll assume season 20 was a fluke and we'll never get more. If you're vehemently opposed to buying the set, that's your opinion, but those on the fence or waffling due to uniformity or other various reasons, just remember that future releases being dvd-only will be on you, and you'll NEVER get another blu-ray edition again.

[whbinder]

Originally Posted by Remmus

I'm sure they'll release the BD for seasons 14-19, but unfortunately I don't think they will release the BD for previous seasons anytime soon, or even release them at all

Actually, the opposite may very well be true.

Seasons 1-13 were done on actual cells which can be scanned in at HD. Seasons 14-19 were sadly created entirely in the digital realm hard set at 480p. Or... maybe 480i I can't remember. But regardless, SD.

[simpspin]

Originally Posted by Nielsb90

Haha yeah! Its funny how some people will actually dislike you just because you dont hate certain episodes.. I say bullcrap! Even most of the worst Simpsons episodes are still very entertaining!

Nah. Bad TV is bad TV. The only difference here is the characters have a likable history, but that can only carry a show so far if the humor itself is terrible. Since Mike Scully took over in Season 9, the dose of class that was dressed up to appeal to everyone that was the first 8 seasons was replaced by a guy who wanted to make a dumbed-down, zany, generic cartoon. Sadly, he (and with current show runner Al Jean) succeeded.

And Kill the Aligator and Run was quite funny too.. Have a hard time figuring out why it is so incredibly bad

"Alligator" was the episode that marked what went wrong with the show--Homer acting like a retarded jackass, a pointless celeberty cameo, and story that was written like 12yr old Family Guy fan on a sugar high. Before anyone says "but it's a cartoon!" hold up--Are you saying cartoons don't have to make sense? Cartoons don't have to have coherent plots and cartoons don't have to be well written? Guess what--that's the attitude that produced terrible episodes of this caliber.

Stupid humor--no, I'm not saying fans of stupid humor are dumb--has its place, but the Simpsons since Mike Scully, and Al Jean have been soley in charge have the worst kind of stupid humor: Stupid humor that acts like it's smart. But in the end, the quality of writing has no bearing on Fox's bottom line (merchandising makes 4x the cash than advertising during the show) so it doesn't matter that the writing has gone to hell.

[Afrobean]

Originally Posted by whbinder

Actually, the opposite may very well be true.

Seasons 1-13 were done on actual cells which can be scanned in at HD. Seasons 14-19 were sadly created entirely in the digital realm hard set at 480p. Or... maybe 480i I can't remember. But regardless, SD.

That would require extensive remastering work that Fox isn't likely to undertake, not only because of the remaster work but also because they've already released those seasons on DVD and aren't likely to backpedal at this point.

And they especially won't bother with the first 12 seasons if Season 13 fails to sell well on BD.

But as others have pointed out, BD is still superior, even if the video isn't native HD. Better colors, less artifacting, lossless audio, etc.

the dose of class

You know this thread is about THE SIMPSONS, right? The cartoon that went a long ways to popularizing the dysfunctional family sitcom. The word "class" has almost no place in describing the show; "crude" is more appropriate.

[Sabotage]

Originally Posted by simpspin

nah. Bad tv is bad tv. The only difference here is the characters have a likable history, but that can only carry a show so far if the humor itself is terrible. Since mike scully took over in season 9, the dose of class that was dressed up to appeal to everyone that was the first 8 seasons was replaced by a guy who wanted to make a dumbed-down, zany, generic cartoon. Sadly, he (and with current show runner al jean) succeeded.



"alligator" was the episode that marked what went wrong with the show--homer acting like a retarded jackass, a pointless celeberty cameo, and story that was written like 12yr old family guy fan on a sugar high. Before anyone says "but it's a cartoon!" hold up--are you saying cartoons don't have to make sense? Cartoons don't have to have coherent plots and cartoons don't have to be well written? Guess what--that's the attitude that produced terrible episodes of this caliber.

Stupid humor--no, i'm not saying fans of stupid humor are dumb--has its place, but the simpsons since mike scully, and al jean have been soley in charge have the worst kind of stupid humor: Stupid humor that acts like it's smart. But in the end, the quality of writing has no bearing on fox's bottom line (merchandising makes 4x the cash than advertising during the show) so it doesn't matter that the writing has gone to hell.

Debbie_Downer.jpg

[simpspin]

Originally Posted by Afrobean

You know this thread is about THE SIMPSONS, right? The cartoon that went a long ways to popularizing the dysfunctional family sitcom. The word "class" has almost no place in describing the show; "crude" is more appropriate.

The Simpsons was a show that was intelligently written, but on the surface appeared crude and unruly. Adults got the subtle jokes and satire, while the kids liked the slapstick; it was a show that appealed to almost everyone and that's why it had class. The show was clever, but it wasn't genuinely nasty. Compare the jokes from the first 8 seasons to 'gags' like Homer having his guts ripped open, or recently Bob's face being transplanted in that 'funny' parody of Face Off. Uh, no.

Oh, and the real "Debbie Downer" is being told by people in the production staff in 1999-2000 the show is trying to appeal to a younger fanbase because the fans who watched it since the Ullman show shorts 'might leave suddenly.' The hack writers who had all but replaced the original staff by S10 felt the show was more profitable by appealing to little kids by making Homer the punching bag and the show more like a saturday morning cartoon. By the time 2007 rolled around, the Simpsons movie (aka: "Homer gets Hurt, Repeatedly") the show had cemented itself as being purely a vehicle for slapstick and was, again, a merchandising behemoth.

[thorthefifth]

I just want to say that I just picked this up and I love it. It's great quality. Very happy I went with the blu. I'm OCD too but I'm happy I went with the blu-ray on this release

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by simpspin

By the time 2007 rolled around, the Simpsons movie (aka: "Homer gets Hurt, Repeatedly") the show had cemented itself as being purely a vehicle for slapstick and was, again, a merchandising behemoth.

Yes. because if anybody gets satire at the expense of the EPA, it's kids.

[Kryptonic]

I'm not sure who's worse, Star Wars or Simpsons fans.

[mayorofsmpleton]

I imagine I'm going to go BD on this one... just because the colors, etc ARE going to be a lot better and I HATE compression artifacts.

As far as the quality -- while the show dipped in the seasons 9-13 years I recently spent a month or so watching seasons 14+ through the most recent episodes and must say the show goes through something of a rebirth. It's not the Simpsons of S1-8 but it's certainly not what I'd call "Bad" just "different."

The movie, for example, seemed to be a call-back to the earlier episodes (probably due to getting back a lot of the older writing staff to work on it) but even the latest seasons have been surprisingly well done and I'd argue that the "slump" experienced caused a lot of the old fans to flee and not return. Then a lot of them pop in and catch 1-2 new episodes and have decided it sucks prior to even watching them.

In the past few years I can think of a number of episodes that were downright fantastic and the show is easily miles above Family Guy -- wheras when FG was first starting out The Simpsons was going through a bit of a rough patch...

In other words -- it's never going to be the show it once was -- but somewhere in the 'early teen' seasons it starts to morph into Simpsons 2.0 -- and the new version of the show is great. Is it the same exact humor as the early years? Heavens no... but it's far from "poorly written" or what I'd consider a bad cartoon. It's still written in a way that it can appeal to adults/kids on different levels. They seem to have learned from their mistakes of the past (some of those season 9-12 episode are just unwatchable...).

I'm glad I gave the show another shot -- because I'd have missed out on some fantastic satire.

[Afrobean]

Honestly, I still think it's hilarious that someone would use the word "class" to describe the Simpsons at ANY point. Go tell Matt Groening sometime you think season 1 was "classy". Go look up any of the writers or storyboarders from back then. Tell them their work was "classy".

Ask them if THEY think it's "classy". Seems like you're just upset that the creative direction took a turn for the more outlandish... not that the seeds weren't there from the very beginning (or do you think the premise of "There's no Disgrace Like Home" is realistic?). It just took them a while to realize that they didn't need to be so bound by common sitcom cliches, that they didn't need to be tied down by continuity thanks to their medium.

[mpstjohn]

The show's fun. I'll buy the blu-ray, but even at its peak it was far from the greatest animated show on television.

In comparing it to Family Guy, though you might've had a chance to say the Simpson was better, that pretty much ended when The Simpsons writers started lifting not just episode ideas but entire scenes from Family Guy (watch "Meet the Quagmires" and then "That 90s Show", the BTTF homage is a completely uninspired ripoff of FG's homage, which was actually funny) and American Dad (watch "Of Ice and Men" and then "Boy Meets Curl") and when the show became little more than the writers working off a template (the same five or six kinds of episodes.. marital problems between Homer/Marge, Lisa tries something new, Bart or Lisa falls in love, the Simpsons go on vacation, peripheral character-themed, or trilogy based episode). Even at its best, American Dad has it beat no problem. Its to Family Guy, what Futurama is to The Simpsons (its where all the talented writers went).

For a show as old as it is its enjoyable enough, and Season 13 was toward the end of the show's good run, before things became really formulaic and the cultural references outdated (a real problem recently).

[ArmyOfDarknessAW]

As much as the show may have taken a downturn i will still buy every season that comes out till the show is over. It was one of my favoite shows for awhile and i can't stand the idea of owning just up till say 13 or 14 then stopping. I need them all or none. As for Blu or DVD it depends big time on price. Every season i have (all but 1,6,20) i got for $17 or less.

[Ugly Pig]

Originally Posted by mpstjohn

In comparing it to Family Guy, though you might've had a chance to say the Simpson was better, that pretty much ended when The Simpsons writers started lifting not just episode ideas but entire scenes from Family Guy

...while Family Guy lifted its entire premise and main character from The Simpsons.

[simpspin]

Originally Posted by mayorofsmpleton

As far as the quality -- while the show dipped in the seasons 9-13 years I recently spent a month or so watching seasons 14+ through the most recent episodes and must say the show goes through something of a rebirth. It's not the Simpsons of S1-8 but it's certainly not what I'd call "Bad" just "different."

On the internet movie database, there's a ranking of the episodes from best to worst and here's the results: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096697/eprate

Now, if you were to make a graph, it'd look like this:



As the graph makes abundantly clear, The Simpsons and The Simpsons 2.0 are two different television shows. There was a very high quality one in the 90s, and now there’s a middling to bad one that just won’t stop.

Originally Posted by Afrobean

Honestly, I still think it's hilarious that someone would use the word "class" to describe the Simpsons at ANY point. Go tell Matt Groening sometime you think season 1 was "classy". Go look up any of the writers or storyboarders from back then. Tell them their work was "classy".

A definition of "class" is: "excellence; exceptional merit". Also, I never used the word "classy." Thanks.

Ask them if THEY think it's "classy". Seems like you're just upset that the creative direction took a turn for the more outlandish... not that the seeds weren't there from the very beginning (or do you think the premise of "There's no Disgrace Like Home" is realistic?). It just took them a while to realize that they didn't need to be so bound by common sitcom cliches, that they didn't need to be tied down by continuity thanks to their medium.

"The seeds were there from the begining!?" Huh? Groening was very strict in the first 8 seasons when had influence over the show. It wasn't until he left to make Futurma that Mike Scully took over in S9 and the strict rules started to fall apart.

Again, I never mentioned the term "continuity" (unless you're implying I mean the show being consistently excellent, then I'd say the show had 'continuity.) Also if you mean by 'sitcom cliches', which I think you mistake for solid storytelling:

Act 1: Unrelated intro, Establish the conflict
Act 2: Characters are at lowest point, adds a bit of drama
Act 3: Characters learn from their situation and overcome conflict and reach a resolution.

You don't just go from one semi-related sketch to another, or have a bunch of scenes with ohmygodthepacingissocrazyitlookslikewellscriptedst uff and try to make it look like a plot. Frankly, the past few seasons have been worse than the Scully era and would be more at home as sort-of funny youtube skits than part of a tv show....and the fact the showrunners made the inept choice to make the show 4 acts now. Ick.

Originally Posted by Imrahil2001

It's just a "oh, the golden age when I was younger was so much better" mentality. Simpsons S13 is as funny as S7 or 8 or 9.

I was one of those 14-year-olds that grew up with the show. While I watched The Simpsons back then and was entertained by it on a baser level, it wasn’t until later in high school when I appreciated the show for what it was: a dense, multi-faceted comedy that rewarded thoughtful viewers with sharp, intelligent humor. As a dunderheaded teen, I thoroughly enjoyed the show’s slapstick tendencies and occasional puerile jokes (Buttzilla, anyone?) since the cultural references usually flew over my head. As I grew up, I fell in love with the show as subtle allusions to classic literature, film, and pop culture revealed themselves, while the edgy social satire suddenly made sense. This had the effect of making The Simpsons even richer; it was the show that kept on giving. Imagined nostalgia and hollow sentiment have nothing to do with why I love the first eight or so seasons.

That's why I roll my eyes at anyone who says the show is 'just as good' or "it's trying to stay current" because the modern Simpsons trying to stay "hip" is like that 40yr old guy who tries to be cool in front of his teenage kids. No amount of Steve Mobbs, MyPods, or Mapples parodies, or talking about the new-fangled things on the internet will make the Simpsons relevant in today's society.

(Morgan Spurlock, on the other hand, must've been feeling really nostalgic. Ninety percent of the clips during the Simpsons "20th" An. Special were from the first 10 seasons. The people he interviewed on the street gave favorite Simpsons lines...all from the first 10 seasons, too!)

I also tend to like episodes that are fun and humorous, as opposed to ponderous and schmaltzy ("Moaning Lisa" is perhaps my least favorite episode ever).

I'd take ponderous and schmaltzy over the dreck that is the current Simpsons. Line upon line of failed humor is more depressing than watching Lisa trying to figure life out.

Originally Posted by ArmyOfDarknessAW

As much as the show may have taken a downturn i will still buy every season that comes out till the show is over. It was one of my favoite shows for awhile and i can't stand the idea of owning just up till say 13 or 14 then stopping. I need them all or none. As for Blu or DVD it depends big time on price. Every season i have (all but 1,6,20) i got for $17 or less.

I stopped buying the Seasons new at Season 8 and picked up Seasons 9 and 10 used for 10 bucks each at my local pawn shop. The only other seasons worth owning, IMO, are 13-15, and they'll be purchased used on Blu Ray.

[simpspin]

Originally Posted by Imrahil2001

You're tedious. I think I'll watch the Simpsons instead of reading that.

If you're going to say something so dismissive as to imply I'm crying for my childhood in the older Simpsons episodes, at least have something to back up your claim. I don't think me, or the show's most sober critics are THAT simple minded.

[simpspin]

Originally Posted by Imrahil2001

You simply aren't worth the effort.

I'd say the pressure's finally got to Imrahil2001, but what pressure?

[mpstjohn]

Originally Posted by Ugly Pig

...while Family Guy lifted its entire premise and main character from The Simpsons.

Or the Simpsons from The Flintstones and Dennis the Menace.

I don't recall the super-intelligent dog from the Simpsons or the baby that wants to take over the world either. Or the local neighborhood pedophile.

[Sabotage]

Why do people blow the Simpsons way out of perportion? It's a funny cartoon. Just leave it at that.

[Afrobean]

Originally Posted by Ugly Pig

...while Family Guy lifted its entire premise and main character from The Simpsons.

uh lol

The stupid father character archetype has existed for a long freaking time, bro. The Simpons themselves joke that they ripped off The Honeymooners or The Flintstones. Family Guy too has made references to The Honeymooners and The Flintstones.

Originally Posted by linked rule to the Simpsons

Always be real

ahahahahahahahaha

Yeah, season 1 is totally real. It's like they looked into my life and made a show about it. I remember the time I faked being a genius, fooled everyone, went to a new school for geniuses, failed at it, then again successfully lied to be allowed to go back to my old school with absolutely no negative consequences. And the time my family and I all electroshocked each other. And then one time my grandpa helped me literally wage war on a bully. And one time, my kid sister befriended an aging jazz muscician. And oh man, one time, my family went on vacation, but my dad drove the RV off the side of a cliff!

But I'll never forget MY DAD JUMPING OVER THE GRAND CANYON ON MY SKATEBOARD.

THIS IS REAL

Oh wait, sorry. "Bart the Daredevil" was in season 2.

That's why I roll my eyes at anyone who says the show is 'just as good' or "it's trying to stay current"

Who is saying that? It's just a different show now, that's all. Do you really think a sitcom could last for 20 years and not change at all? Maybe if they allowed the children to grow up they could tell new stories about growing up, but no. It's a cartoon and they don't want them to age.