The Big Picture: Q&A

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
24,759
0
0
Never read the comments!

My problem with Simpsons episodes is how forgettable a bunch of them are. If there's one I think is the worst, it probably isn't, because I guarantee you I forgot about 30 others.
 

WiseBass

New member
Apr 29, 2011
46
0
0
Schlocktober is BACK! Good times.

I'm honestly not certain what the worst Simpsons episode is. The Simpsons doesn't tend to make a lot of truly "bad" episodes - there's a baseline of quality there. At their worst they're usually just forgettable, with either a tedious guest star, a dated approach to something happening (because they had to make these a year in advance), or maybe 1 or 2 funny jokes and little else (or all three).

I'm more curious as to what Bob thinks the best Simpsons episode is.
 

CrazyGirl17

I am a banana!
Sep 11, 2009
5,141
0
0
For Simpson's question, I feel that while the later seasons aren't quite as good... there are some worth watching. My favorites are "Brick Like Me", "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind", and "Days of Future Passed" (I agree with Bob that the sequel episode sucked and I consider it non-canon... well, whatever passes for canon on The Simpsons, anyway).

Anyway I'll be happy to see the return of Schlocktober, not sure if Bob did it while he was off the Escapist, I never bothered to check.
 

P-89 Scorpion

New member
Sep 25, 2014
466
0
0
We all wish the micro-transaction era was a little bit of money that you eventually no longer needed to spend but that's just not how it's gone.

Best Big Picture episodes where the history of Hollywood episodes followed by the comic's are weird ones.
 

ewhac

Digital Spellweaver
Legacy
Escapist +
Sep 2, 2009
575
0
21
San Francisco Peninsula
Country
USA
CrazyGirl17 said:
Anyway I'll be happy to see the return of Schlocktober, not sure if Bob did it while he was off the Escapist, I never bothered to check.
Yes, he did. [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1WoYVvJ35XpuhT3BM6hr1DnshUU6INS-]
 

RTR

New member
Mar 22, 2008
1,351
0
0
That was an even better answer than I could've hoped for. Thanks!
 

Makabriel

New member
May 13, 2013
547
0
0
As adaptive and customizable as PCs are these days, they could be technically be called the "4th" console. You could easily put together a small form factor system that can sit in your entertainment center and have it playable with a console controller.
 

NerfedFalcon

Level i Flare!
Mar 23, 2011
7,065
779
118
Gender
Male
I actually liked the old story arcs on Overthinker for a while, though eventually I lost the plot around the time that Lieberman(?) turned out to be evil. Sure, they were pretty dumb and ultimately reliant on the unsustainable increase in its cast, but it was charmingly sincere until it got too deep down that rabbit hole.

Ah, well. At least Ivan will always be cute.
 

CrazyGirl17

I am a banana!
Sep 11, 2009
5,141
0
0
ewhac said:
CrazyGirl17 said:
Anyway I'll be happy to see the return of Schlocktober, not sure if Bob did it while he was off the Escapist, I never bothered to check.
Yes, he did. [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1WoYVvJ35XpuhT3BM6hr1DnshUU6INS-]
Hey thanks. I'll have to put time aside to check it out... along with all the other playlists I have to catch up on...
 

hentropy

New member
Feb 25, 2012
737
0
0
I wish my childhood video rental place had those anime movies... then again we never even had a Blockbuster. Most people would probably pick any given Ghibli work for their favorite anime movie but it's cool to know your first ones were some of the other more unique 80s movies.
 

cathou

Souris la vie est un fromage
Apr 6, 2009
1,163
0
0
CrazyGirl17 said:
For Simpson's question, I feel that while the later seasons aren't quite as good... there are some worth watching. My favorites are "Brick Like Me", "Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind", and "Days of Future Passed" (I agree with Bob that the sequel episode sucked and I consider it non-canon... well, whatever passes for canon on The Simpsons, anyway).

Anyway I'll be happy to see the return of Schlocktober, not sure if Bob did it while he was off the Escapist, I never bothered to check.
i'm not sure. is the later season really getting bad, or it's just that it's getting bad compare to the other stuff we have now. i mean look the competition the simpsons had in their first 10 season, and look what the competition is now. The simpsons used to be this must see show every week, and now it's just one of the shows every weeks...
 

The Great JT

New member
Oct 6, 2008
3,721
0
0
I was big on Magnet Man, myself, Bob. Still, thanks for answering my question.

Unrelated note, YES, next week marks Schlocktober!
 

Basement Cat

Keeping the Peace is Relaxing
Jul 26, 2012
2,379
0
0
Funny, I haven't watched the Simpsons or South Park for so long that I can't recall when I last saw any episodes. I think that I quit watching the Simpsons in the 90's and haven't watched South Park since the 4th or 5th season.

Schlocktober Returns!!! Oh, yaaaaassss!!! Looking forward to it!
 

Samtemdo8_v1legacy

New member
Aug 2, 2015
7,915
0
0
I don't know the Doomsday Clock (Basically Watchmen x DC Universe crossover) has been interesting so far. But I am weary of how all of it will end.
 

Darth_Payn

New member
Aug 5, 2009
2,868
0
0
Judas Rocking Priest, Bob read my question and answered it! And gave one hell of an answer. As for what I think are bad Simpsons episodes, I'd say they're the ones with unsubtle political commentary, where they lecture us (the viewers) instead of make jokes, but the worst of that bunch, to me, is G.I.D'oh. Homer joins the U.S. Army, and it's one big middle finger in their direction. It said top to bottom, officers to enlisted, everyone in it sucks. To top it off, the air date was 11/12/2006, one day AFTER Veteran's Day. When South Park and fucking Family Guy show more respect, make fun of terrorists, and tell better jokes, something's very wrong.
Oh, another sucky one was where Bart's Little League team makes it to some championship game, he suddenly turns into a spaz, they lose the game, and the whole town gives him hell for it. So much so, he almost commits suicide.

hentropy said:
I wish my childhood video rental place had those anime movies... then again we never even had a Blockbuster. Most people would probably pick any given Ghibli work for their favorite anime movie but it's cool to know your first ones were some of the other more unique 80s movies.
As a '90's kid, my Anime Starter set was whatever I could find on TV (in my case, Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing), movies I happened to find on Premium cable, and whatever my Asian friends recommended.

Samtemdo8 said:
I don't know the Doomsday Clock (Basically Watchmen x DC Universe crossover) has been interesting so far. But I am weary of how all of it will end.
You gotta admire the balls on DC to go through with it, and Geoff Johns to write it, at the risk of incurring the wrath of Alan Moore.
 

Something Amyss

Aswyng and Amyss
Dec 3, 2008
24,759
0
0
Darth_Payn said:
As a '90's kid, my Anime Starter set was whatever I could find on TV (in my case, Dragon Ball Z and Gundam Wing), movies I happened to find on Premium cable, and whatever my Asian friends recommended.
Consider yourself lucky, though. As an 80s kid, most of my exposure to anime was badly chopped up or poorly dubbed--or both. Even a fair number of the videos in the "anime" section at the local video store followed this path.

You gotta admire the balls on DC to go through with it, and Geoff Johns to write it, at the risk of incurring the wrath of Alan Moore.
Everyone risks the ire of Alan Moore. Even mentioning Watchmen runs the risk of the ire of Alan Moore, because his work is perfect and should remain untouched for all of time. I recently bought some of Moore's Swamp Thing work and I could feel his cold, disapproving stare on the back of my neck.

Far as balls, the only thing I credit DC with is a stunning lack of self-awareness. This is the same company that seemed legitimately surprised that people were upset by seeing what was n Bruce Wayne's utility belt. I think milking Watchmen was a virtual inevitability and we're probably just lucky they didn't make an angsty, brooding version of the book first.

To be fair, I have a similar opinion of the comics branch of Marvel. I think there's a hand at the rudder of the MCU, but I'm not sure anyone even remotely competent is really paying attention at Marvel or DC. They both put out some great content, but they seem to stumble into it.
 

kimiyoribaka

New member
Jul 11, 2012
47
0
0
I think the assessment of the movie history regarding blockbusters was interesting, but I think it's unlikely to parallel the game industry. There's two elements that I think were missing, one on each side: television and the decade or so between AAA and the 80's. I think the nearly but not quite separate fields of casual and "hardcore" are basically what has been around ever since television was invented, simply because it covers so much more of the market, and, if anything, video games have just gotten to the point where that balanced separation is being achieved. If there is a good comparison to be made with blockbuster movies, I think it's that video games are just getting to the point where people will take a break from AAA until it transforms into the realm movies like star wars helped to achieve.

Consider how many past popular games, similar to films, are now being re-released on mobile, almost like the way you can watch old movies on many cable and broadcast networks, especially on weekends.
 

megs1120

Wing Commander
Jul 27, 2009
530
0
0
I stopped watching The Simpsons in the early 00s and then caught a random episode at a bar with a friend. Maybe it's the alcohol talking but there were no redeeming features of that Lady Gaga episode. Blecch.

Also, I alt-tabbed away just in time to get startled by the schlocktober thunderclap, you made me jump out of my chair, well done.