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Homer, the plant called. They said if you don’t show up tomorrow don’t bother showing up on Monday.

Woo-hoo! Four-day weekend! / Seth Freilich

Miscellaneous | February 16, 2009 | Comments (32)

If you’re like me, and I suspect many of you are, you religiously watched “The Simpsons” for many years, and can spit quotes from Seasons Three through Eight like a college freshman stuffing a towel under his dorm room door. But you probably don’t watch anymore. Which means that you don’t know that the show jumped into the world of HD last night. Don’t know if the episode was any good or not, but the new main title is pretty spiffy:









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Comments

Wow, that was actually kind of incredibly good.

Posted by: Snath at February 16, 2009 11:11 AM

Hang on, you had Friday off too? I was willing to pass on begrudging those whose offices were closed today since I had serendipitously been off Friday....but four days is different. Now I'm back to being bitter.

The clip was good though.

Posted by: Jay at February 16, 2009 11:17 AM

The last half was pretty funny.

It may be because I indulged in a little smokey-smokey.

Posted by: Janey at February 16, 2009 11:18 AM

ah the simpsons...they may be declining slowly over the years, but who wouldn't cry over the loss of this from good ol' tv land?

Posted by: jingram at February 16, 2009 11:21 AM

A Communist, that's who!

Posted by: Snath at February 16, 2009 11:24 AM

Jay: If you live in Illinois and work for the state or city, you get Wednesday off too.

Posted by: PaddyDog at February 16, 2009 11:26 AM

Is that a snow day or somethin?

Posted by: Jay at February 16, 2009 11:44 AM

Damn, Seth, I was afraid you had dropped off the face of the earth.

I'm glad you didn't.

Posted by: Jerce at February 16, 2009 11:52 AM

Not MY President!

Posted by: annoyingmouse at February 16, 2009 12:03 PM

I don't care what anybody says, I have been watching since the very beginning and I will be watching till the bitter end!

I haven't seen last night's episode, it is waiting on my DVR, uh oh, I have to call my son and make sure he doesn't delete it after he watches it!!!

Posted by: Alli at February 16, 2009 12:06 PM

Yeah, the Simpsons is great, etc etc, but I just came really late to the party last night and started watching "Damages." Have you guys seen this show? It is fucking amazing. It's like Devil Wears Prada, except evil, and with lawyers. And I am a lawyer. And I LOVE IT!

(I'd like to go ahead and nominate myself for Pajiba's award for the most eloquent television review of 2009 for the above review of "Damages." It's amazing to me that they haven't asked me yet to be a permanent writer.)

Posted by: The Pink Hulk at February 16, 2009 12:07 PM

I used to be an unrepentant Simpsons fan for many seasons but the last few years...eh, not so much.

Sometimes (most) it's just BRUTALLY unfunny and PAINFUL to watch.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at February 16, 2009 12:33 PM

Wasn't that the opening from the movie?

Posted by: Some Guy at February 16, 2009 12:55 PM

I've often wondered why they haven't changed more things on the show. Add new characters, age them a few years, or just have stories that focus on one of the many background characters for the entire 23 min. All they do is switch between original family character heavy lines. They started with bart, shifted to homer, then to lisa. Now Bart is played out and wayyy too 1991, Homer has gotten smarter, or more dumb, either way, not the same, and LIsa is annoying as fuck.

There are literally hundreds of characters to focus on. Disco Stu, Dredrick tatum, Hans Frickin Moleman.

Write an episode around them, and don't have any of the original character appear in great detail.

Why the hell not? It's all the same universe.

Posted by: Some Guy at February 16, 2009 1:03 PM

Add new characters, age them a few years, or just have stories that focus on one of the many background characters for the entire 23 min.

Write an episode around them, and don't have any of the original character appear in great detail.

That was the deal with Futurama, but it got cancelled. I think that is why they aren't as eager to tinker with the original formula.

Posted by: Vermillion at February 16, 2009 1:25 PM

I love that quote, Seth.

I was a curious when I heard they were changing the title sequence, but they didn't change it so much as update it, and it's about time.

Posted by: Melissa at February 16, 2009 3:00 PM

And is Futurama better in every way to The Simpsons?

Absofuckinglutely.

Too bad they still have to make money. Bastards.

Posted by: Snath at February 16, 2009 3:17 PM

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA the Simpsons can bite my shiny metal ass!

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at February 16, 2009 3:22 PM

I'd like to second The Pink Hulk's self-nomination. That was beautifully written, my friend.

I have been watching since the very beginning and I will be watching till the bitter end!

Also seconded. I liked the updated opening, it was fun. Of course, I have neither digital cable nor a HDTV, so it was probably kind of wasted on me, at least the HD part. Oh, well. Someday.

Posted by: Anna von Beaverplatz at February 16, 2009 4:24 PM

I'm a little drunk, but that seemed neat.

Posted by: courtney at February 16, 2009 5:33 PM

Snath, I don't know who you are, but I like you.

Absofuckinglutely indeed.

Posted by: dsbs at February 16, 2009 5:35 PM

Fuck you in the Ozarks, Matt Groening.

I mean, not that the Simpsons has been that funny for the past 10 solid seasons anyway (and I won't even comment on the movie here), but if he wants this Portlander's [Oregon, not that place in that one other state] respect back, just redraw the fucking original in HD and let me have those good memories every time the oh-so-well known and loved music kicks in.
That sucked something awful.

And shit on a stick- where is "NRA4EVER?"

Posted by: krza at February 16, 2009 6:05 PM

In the 138th Episode Spectacular, the only place it's ever been. Do your research before you talk Simpsons on the Internet. We're everywhere.

Also, the four new Futurama movies are about 50 times worse than anything the Simpsons has ever done. Fact. I watched them, but it's no longer as delectable as dipping my bottom over and over into a bath of the silkiest oils and creams.

Posted by: NewWave Polly at February 16, 2009 6:29 PM

As ambivalent as I am about The Simpsons these days, I could never bad mouth a show that gave five or six seasons of pure awesomeness. My favorite ep--"Homer Goes to College," written by Conan O'Brien if i'm not mistaken. Good times.

I liked Futurama too...although it was never quite on par w/ the best years of The Simpsons. I don't even think you can compare the two. Plus I caught Bender's Big Score on DVD and it kinda blew.

Posted by: stryker1121 at February 16, 2009 6:32 PM

Can I take this opportunity to formally request a list of recent episodes that don't suck? I'd love to start watching again but I'm afraid of drowning in embarrassment-tears.

Posted by: james. at February 16, 2009 6:34 PM

Wow, that was essentially a two minute montage showcasing every reason i hate new episodes of the simpsons.

Posted by: Trevorb at February 16, 2009 6:37 PM

I apologize for NOTHING! and I WILL bad mouth it because because the assholes have been phoning it in for YEARS.

However there can be NO argument the first seven seasons were...mmmm.... deliciously absurd.

Posted by: BarbadoSlim at February 16, 2009 6:48 PM

In the 138th Episode Spectacular, the only place it's ever been.

NewWave Polly, I think you were replying to my comment about the NRA4EVER thing. If so, I was talking about the cash register in the opening when Maggie gets scanned. As far as I know, the LED thingy on the register has always read "NRA4EVER" since the start of the show. If you weren't writing at me, please excuse.

And I've seen every new Futurama movie. Straight terrible. All of 'em.

Posted by: krza at February 16, 2009 6:48 PM

Well then, here I was gleefully enjoying the Futurama movies (and the commentaries even more, especially on Bender's Game). I didn't know apparently there was a fatwa on the damn things.

Posted by: Vermillion at February 16, 2009 7:13 PM

How can you people say Bender's Game was terrible? Okay, so I'm willing to admit the others were kind of sub-par, considering how good the show was, but Bender's Game is definitely awesome.

No episode will ever beat the high note the show went out on, though.

"The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings" is one of the best episodes of TV from any show, ever.

Posted by: Snath at February 16, 2009 9:19 PM

NRA4EVER?

I believe you guys are mistaken. It's originally "$847.63" - the cost of raising a baby over a month in 1989. NRA4EVER was just the clip show fraking with everybody to see if somebody would pick that up.

Using an online inflation calculator, $847.63 in 1989 translates to $1,437.06 in 2008 terms. The video is too blurry to make out what comes on after Maggie is scanned, but I assume it's something like that.

--
As for futurama - I loved both Bender's Big Score and Bender's Game, but the other two were just foul. Did we really need that many jokes involving body fluids ...

Posted by: Lydia at February 16, 2009 9:39 PM

Good stuff I say, although there seemed to be a lot of silence; ie. sound effects and the like.

Posted by: Brendan at February 18, 2009 12:14 AM