I don't very often watch the Simpsons but I saw part of an episode tonight. Bart had drawn a comic strip about Homer called "Angry Dad". I was particularly taken with Homer's line "It's true! I'm a rageaholic. I can't live without rageahol."
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
Only once has one of the titles of a Simpsons episode appeared on screen. The rest of the time it's in TV or episode guides. Of course, we all know that The Simpsons was a British Invention™.
Originally posted by zmjezhd: I loved the title of one of the episodes
Only once has one of the titles of a Simpsons episode appeared on screen. The rest of the time it's in TV or episode guides. Of course, we all know that The Simpsons was a British Invention™.
Well it may not have been a British invention but it did debut on the Tracy Ullman show and she's British. We sent her to you guys because she isn't funny.
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
Richard, when the Simpson's first started, our kids wanted to watch it, and Shu and I wouldn't let them. We thought it was another trashy program. However, we then watched it and were surprised how clever it actually was. Of course, you might not agree, but I'd at least suggest watching a couple of episodes all the way through. You might be surprised.
I found that site a bit hard to read, with a lot of extranea, but here are a few items I culled from it.
Grandma Simpson (strumming/singing): How many roads must a man walk down, Before you can call him a man? Homer (interrupting): Seven! Lisa: No Dad! It's a rhetorical question! Homer: Rhetorical, eh? Eight! Lisa: Dad, do you even know what "rhetorical" means? Homer: Do I know what rheTORical means!?!
[Bart is grabbed by a chimpanzee at the zoo and pulled into her cage for mothering.] Homer: My son's been ape-napped! Lisa: No, no! It's still kidnapped, the prefix applies to the victim!
Lawyer: What about that tattoo on your chest? Doesn't it say 'Die Bart, Die?' Sideshow Bob (opening his shirt to reveal the tattoo): No! That's German, for 'The Bart, the."
And lastly, this one, which I put separately because it reminds me of what I hear is a common plaint on OEDILF: "Well, it rhymes in our accent!"
Skinner: Superintendent, I hope you're ready for mouth-watering hamburgers! Chalmers: I thought we were having steamed clams. Skinner: No, no, I said 'steamed hams!' That's what I call hamburgers! Chalmers: You call hamburgers 'steamed hams'. Skinner: Yes! It's a regional dialect. Chalmers: Uh-huh--What region? Skinner: Upstate New York? Chalmers: Really. Well, I'm from Utica and I've never heard anyone use the phrase, 'steamed hams.' Skinner: Oh, not in Utica, no! It's an Albany expression.
[side note to goofy, re stating the "linguistic topic": if ya gotta explain a joke, then it ain't funny! ]
I guess Homer wins by default. Homer: The two sweetest words in the English language, Dee-Fault
quote:
Lisa, sarcastically: Look at what the wonders of modern technology have done now. Homer: Wonders Lisa, or blunders? Lisa: I think that was implied. Homer: Implied, or implode?
Homer: I wonder who invented April Fool's Day. Lisa: Actually, like Halloween and Christmas, it can be traced back to and old pagan custom. Homer: God bless those pagans!
The Simpsons is beyond any doubt the single most superior show in the history of television. Anyone not in 100% agreement with the preceding is simply mistaken. (Fawlty Towers is #2.)
Despite living in Oregon, whence The Simpsons originated, I've never watched a full episode. "Farty Towels," however I tried never to miss! Now if we coud get Matt Groening to hook up with the Monty Python lads...
You might try renting The Simpsons movie from last year. We fell right out of our seats laughing.
I had no idea the Simpsons were so linguistically sophisticated, but now that I know, I'll be sure to brag about my fanditude in all the better academic circles.
Wordmatic
Posts: 1390 | Location: Near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Like Kalleh, I originally worried about my kids watching the Simpsons, so I checked it out on my own. I was immediately hooked and started watching it when my kids weren't around. At first, my kids were too young to realize that it wasn't cool to mimic comments and behaviors from the show. Once they were old enough to appreciate the hilarity without modeling Bart's behavior, we all started watching it together.
I remember the very moment, as a child, when I realized there was a whole different level of humor going on in the Warner Brothers cartoons. I was watching Sylvester and Tweety with my father, and suddenly he laughed for no reason at all. "What's so funny?" I asked, and he explained that the name on the door of the doctor's office was "Milt Town, M.D.". Miltown was a popular tranquilizer in the 1950s. It suddenly dawned on me: that joke wasn't meant for kids at all! They were targeting jokes directly at adults!
I've had the same experience with my kids, watching the Simpsons. What are you laughing at?? Well, there's a Japanese movie called Rashomon...
I had the same moment, when my Uncle Jack and I were watching The Bullwinkle Show one evening during its prime time run. We tended to laugh at different things, and on occasion together. Really good writing does not "target" a niche audience but a range.
Thar "aha!" moment of realization that "kiddie" stuff was operating on two levels came to me while watching the original "Beanie and Cecil" puppet show. It went on to be an animated show, but the original puppet show had more satire, parody, and slapstick combined than any of the cartoons Bob Clampett, Beanie's creator, subsequently did.
Really good writing does not "target" a niche audience but a range.
Which is why I've always loved the old Muppet Show! Another fine example of comedy that appealed to all ages. I still enjoy watching the old shows on DVD.
******* "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ~Dalai Lama
