"Lisa, I will hold a meat party. And there will be meat. People will eat meat."

June 20, 2010 7:58 PM

A disturbing comic that re-imagines the classic Simpsons episode "Lisa the Vegetarian" [via: reddit]
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth (117 comments total)

It's split into three parts, the links for the second two parts are at the bottom.
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 7:59 PM on June 20, 2010

Well, that was certainly a thing.
posted by HostBryan at 8:00 PM on June 20, 2010 [22 favorites]

I love this so much. Maybe not the best thing for Metafilter, but this guy needs to convert the rest of the episodes of The Simpsons.
posted by mccarty.tim at 8:03 PM on June 20, 2010 [5 favorites]

That was disturbing. I wish I didn't look at that.
posted by amethysts at 8:03 PM on June 20, 2010 [3 favorites]

What the hell was that?
posted by hal9k at 8:05 PM on June 20, 2010 [9 favorites]

Does what it says on the tin.
posted by yhbc at 8:06 PM on June 20, 2010 [5 favorites]

Can't stop here. This is Bart country.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 8:09 PM on June 20, 2010 [18 favorites]

it's odd how the style changes every few panels. it looks like it was drawn by 8 different artists who wanted to out ren & stimpy each other.

and you don't make friends with salad. duh.
posted by thatelsagirl at 8:10 PM on June 20, 2010 [7 favorites]

Very Mary Fleener.
posted by Artw at 8:11 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

WHAT THE FUCK
posted by oinopaponton at 8:12 PM on June 20, 2010

wat
posted by jquinby at 8:16 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

hush now Brenda. No one can hear us
posted by Judge Dredi at 8:17 PM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

no thank you. please don't come again.
posted by special-k at 8:18 PM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

"Disturbing" comic? How bad could it b-- OH GOD WHY
posted by joeyjoejoejr at 8:21 PM on June 20, 2010 [9 favorites]

Huh, none of the charm and wit of the Simpsons, but plenty of gratuitous LSD nightmare imagery.

This may not be a winner.
posted by clockzero at 8:22 PM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

No thanks.
posted by dead cousin ted at 8:23 PM on June 20, 2010 [6 favorites]

Thank you! Try the veal!

(Don't try the seitan, it's been marinated in ayahuasca.)
posted by naju at 8:26 PM on June 20, 2010

Can't unsee. I tried.
posted by oinopaponton at 8:27 PM on June 20, 2010

It's not like it's wrong to take a beloved cultural icon and twist it into a perverse caricature. The Nightmare Before Christmas, as an example.

But what's the point of this? It's not really a meaningful satire of the Simpsons episode, since it's essentially just extruding the plotline through a Pokey the Penguin script generator. It's not like The Simpsons is broad cutesy pap that needs to be grotesquified.

In fact, it's funny that this needlessness should present itself today, after I happened to read an Onion A.V. Club review of the very third episode of The Simpsons... talking specifically about its early style and how it was intentionally freakish and crude.

Anyway, I don't really have much of a conclusion except to say to the author, "Congratulations. You did a thing, I guess."
posted by Riki tiki at 8:28 PM on June 20, 2010 [16 favorites]

I miss college.
posted by The Whelk at 8:32 PM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

How bad could it b-- OH GOD WHY
posted by joeyjoejoejr

Shabadon't!
posted by Riki tiki at 8:34 PM on June 20, 2010 [4 favorites]

(posted with a kiss and a prayer. I'm on a Mac so I don't know how that formats for y'all)
posted by sourwookie at 8:35 PM on June 20, 2010

MARGE! YOU'RE BREAKING MY HEART!
posted by griphus at 8:35 PM on June 20, 2010 [4 favorites]

Useless.

It's just a little airborne halfassed!
It's still good garbage!
posted by porn in the woods at 8:35 PM on June 20, 2010

Apologies, all. I didn't know Zalgo text was a no-no. Sorry if I messed anything up.
posted by sourwookie at 8:42 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

There's some interesting art work here being put in the service of a really juvenile idea--having Homer leaving a booger on Lisa's eyeball, FFS. The artist can in fact draw better than I could in junior high school, but ultimately it's still Batman-on-the-can stuff.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:43 PM on June 20, 2010

Ah, the Tracey Ullman Show version.
posted by jeremy b at 8:45 PM on June 20, 2010 [13 favorites]

Also, is there any information about who the artist is? Because, unless he or she chose to post this anonymously, this "imgur" site probably stole it.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:47 PM on June 20, 2010

Wow, that was just....not even wrong...

Considering that I practically grew up watching the show, this struck me as even more disturbing than that time, at the tender age of 14, I accidentally stumbled upon a gratuitous Rule 34 detailing Ash Ketchum succumbing to his pubescent incestuous desires.
posted by Throw away your common sense and get an afro! at 8:47 PM on June 20, 2010

So, Lisa The vegetarian was the first time I was convinced I was crazy.

Let me explain.

Okay so like everyone who existed during that time, I loved me some Simpsons. Unlike most other people however I had a shitty B&W TV that didn't get reception but did play videos clearly. So I got a lot of taped episodes from friends and well wishers. I had Lisa The vegetarian on one of the last tapes before we moved again, to a place with free cable and my Mom got a better job so we could finally trash the old set.

So cable! and Color! I know, right? It was amazing. AND this place showed Simpsons re-runs BACK TO BACK - right after school! What heaven is this! Except for one thing. Some of the episodes weren't right. They where missing things. Things I knew had happened. Take Lisa The Vegetarian. It has the conga line joke "you don't make friends with salad!" ...except in the show in my head, that had an extra line. Marge joins in and says "Sorry I don't mean to take sides, I just got caught up in the rhythm." These new, in color, 24 inch episodes did NOT have that line. They just cut to commercial....and while this wasn't pre-internet it was pre-easy to use internet and pre-me having a computer outside the library - so I couldn't exactly talk to anyone about this or look it up cause apparently half my tapes vanished in the move. I was. So. Upset. Cause I lost my library and cause I now couldn't tell if I was GOING CRAZY OR NOT. OMG, EVERYTHING I REMEMBER COULD BE A LIE! Should I mention a teacher turned me onto P.K.D around this time? I think I should.

Anyway fast foward a decade and change and I'm with some friends watching the 8th season Simpsons Box set. It's wonderful, of course, and yes we know every episode by heart - and we get to Lisa The Vegetarian and marge says "Sorry, I didn't mean to take sides-" and I drop my drink, upend a tub of popcorn and scream SEE! I KNEW IT! I FUCKING KNEW IT!

And then they had to pause the disc and I told them the story above, on how I was first introduced to the concept of false memory AND syndication cuts and how I thought I was going crazy but this just proved that I wasn't.

They did not seem convinced.
posted by The Whelk at 8:49 PM on June 20, 2010 [70 favorites]

Actually it;s less Mary Fleener (digging that splash page!) and more Mike Diana.
posted by Artw at 8:52 PM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

Man, that is totally something that just happened.
posted by cortex at 8:54 PM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

Other lines from old episodes have mysteriously dissappeared in later airings I've noticed.
posted by Liquidwolf at 8:58 PM on June 20, 2010

MetaFilter: "Congratulations. You did a thing, I guess."
posted by Sys Rq at 8:59 PM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

If this hasn't destroyed you perhaps this will
OH IT'S HAMBURGER TIME ALL RIGHT
posted by jtron at 8:59 PM on June 20, 2010 [8 favorites]

It's a lot funnier if you imagine every line screamed at you. Very avant garde.
posted by SNWidget at 9:00 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

LISA NEEDS BRACES SELFLINK
posted by The Whelk at 9:04 PM on June 20, 2010

well that was ghastly.
posted by pinky at 9:10 PM on June 20, 2010

Disturbing apparently means "shitty on purpose".
posted by djduckie at 9:18 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

For a lighter tone, there's stupidsexyflanders.swf
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 9:19 PM on June 20, 2010 [3 favorites]

Also, is there any information about who the artist is? Because, unless he or she chose to post this anonymously, this "imgur" site probably stole it.
posted by Halloween Jack at 10:47 PM on June 20 [+] [!]

imgur is an image hosting site. They didn't steal it, any more than photobucket steals anything.
posted by Jpfed at 9:20 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

insipid
posted by neuron at 9:20 PM on June 20, 2010

Not everything that's disturbing is shitty on purpose. Things that are shitty on purpose are usually disturbing one way or another.
posted by amethysts at 9:24 PM on June 20, 2010

Things that are shitty on purpose are usually disturbing one way or another.

It really all depends on the degree of literalness.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:33 PM on June 20, 2010

Well, that is a thing.
posted by desuetude at 9:35 PM on June 20, 2010

Appropriate use of the batshitinsane tag.
posted by msbutah at 9:36 PM on June 20, 2010

this was the most horrifying thing I've seen all week.
posted by episteborg at 9:41 PM on June 20, 2010

Of all the things i've seen, that is definately the most... recent.
posted by blue_beetle at 9:42 PM on June 20, 2010 [21 favorites]

If this hasn't destroyed you perhaps this will

Thanks for the nightmare fuel, there, jtron!
posted by randomkeystrike at 9:43 PM on June 20, 2010

A little disturbing but seems to me like it kind of goes back to Matt Groening's "Life in Hell"?

I like the warped visual style, Homer especially - dark side of the parody.
posted by lon_star at 9:45 PM on June 20, 2010

Meatfilter.
posted by erniepan at 9:47 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Google is failing me tonight, alas, but Gary Panter and Matt Groening actually collaborated on a 'zine-only strip (the something boys? shit, impossible to google. sicko, fukk, something like that) which has a similar sensibility to this, but very lo-fi xerox-only.

This is genius, because it takes Groening's most culturally accessible creation and imagines it as something he and Panter would have created for Speigelman at RAW circa 1995 in the absence of the show, but with the development of the excellent color-printing processes that RAW, Speigelman, and Panter always push the envelopes of.
posted by mwhybark at 9:48 PM on June 20, 2010

[via: reddit]

Ah.
posted by hifiparasol at 10:43 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Good God. I am not often put in a position where I really want to unsee something, but this is one of those occasions.
posted by Michael Roberts at 10:45 PM on June 20, 2010

This is a bit crap then isn't it.
posted by paisley henosis at 10:46 PM on June 20, 2010

Well, I liked it.
posted by robcorr at 11:08 PM on June 20, 2010

I liked it, too, but mostly because I remember hating that episode. Maybe the gruesomeness of this comic is supposed to be some sort of comment on or remedy for the "earnestness" of the original's satire.
posted by flechsig at 11:26 PM on June 20, 2010 [1 favorite]

Umm. Dr. Hibbert with chicken and watermelon?
That's what took it from "something with no reason to exist" to "something that really should never have happened."
posted by wreckingball at 11:30 PM on June 20, 2010 [2 favorites]

AKA, a bunch of Simpsons characters touching Lisa with their long spaghetti arms.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 11:38 PM on June 20, 2010

Ralph Wiggum was spot on.
posted by prototype_octavius at 12:05 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

Umm. Dr. Hibbert with chicken and watermelon?

If I was feeling charitable towards it I might interpret that as a comment on The Simpsons' own poor attitude towards, well, basically every American minority ever. The black cast of The Simpsons is pretty varied, but Apu, Dr Nick, the Bumblebee Man, Cookie Kwan ("stay off the west side!" she screeches), Smithers (who in the absence of any other gay character has to embody as many gay stereotypes as possible), and so on and so on.

I don't think it is, though; seems more like "what else is lolshocking?" and I'm not sure it would be justifiable even if it was.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 12:12 AM on June 21, 2010

cynical.

both the strip and the reaction to it.

sad.

not the strip, but my reaction to your accumulated reactions.

it ain't genius, but does it need to be?
a lot of people still watch and love the simpsons.
for me it's about as interesting and suburban as still enjoying 'i wuv wucy' or 'duh? honeymooners!'

this is an example of shitting on the shitting on the thread.
posted by artof.mulata at 12:20 AM on June 21, 2010

DON'T HAVE A COW, MAN!
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:51 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

the classic Simpsons episode "Lisa the Vegetarian"

I don't know if this episode marks when the show started sucking consistently, but it was a fairly preachy Capra-esque bit of television from writers who were otherwise poking fun at preachy people. Some of the writers clearly had a huge chip on their shoulders about people eating a hamburger.

Anyhow, it's great that something this "classic" can be disassembled and put back together in this way. Fun post, great find.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 12:57 AM on June 21, 2010

I loved it!
posted by UbuRoivas at 1:55 AM on June 21, 2010

This might not be super profound, I suppose, but I'd like to think there's a quiet genius in the frame where Lisa says "Oh Bart..." with squishee coming out of her mouth.
posted by malapropist at 2:09 AM on June 21, 2010

it ain't genius, but does it need to be?

I don't think we're asking for genius, I think we just expect something of a bit higher calibre than someone getting on one of the old Party Lines and shouting "fart!" just because he thinks it's omg funny.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:03 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

If I was feeling charitable towards it I might interpret that as a comment on The Simpsons' own poor attitude towards, well, basically every American minority ever.

No UK show would get away with Apu, I can tell you now.

Also: HURF DURF THEY SAID CUNT
posted by mippy at 4:14 AM on June 21, 2010

The Kumars at No 42 probably do both.
posted by UbuRoivas at 4:26 AM on June 21, 2010

If I was feeling charitable towards it I might interpret that as a comment on The Simpsons' own poor attitude towards, well, basically every American minority ever. The black cast of The Simpsons is pretty varied, but Apu, Dr Nick, the Bumblebee Man, Cookie Kwan ("stay off the west side!" she screeches), Smithers (who in the absence of any other gay character has to embody as many gay stereotypes as possible), and so on and so on.

The black cast of the Simpsons is just the Hibberts, isn't it? And that's basically a one-time, out-of-date reference to The Cosby Show. I haven't really watched Simpsons since 2001 or so, have they added some more black characters since then?

What minority is Dr Nick? He has an accent, but I'm not able to identify him.

I think there's an episode (or more than one) showing that the Bumblebee Man is actually intelligent and erudite. Oh, I guess I'm both right and wrong:

In "Bart Gets Famous", he anchored the Channel 6 News with an articulate "British" accent, filling in for Kent Brockman because Bart stole his Danish to give to Krusty (refusing to anchor the news without having it), but this was mentioned in an episode commentary as a mistake.

I don't know if that means that he ended up being animated there by mistake or that they later realized that doing so (on purpose) was a mistake.
posted by DU at 4:28 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

The black cast of the Simpsons is just the Hibberts, isn't it?

GASP. How could you forget Carl? Carl Carlson?
posted by Justinian at 4:29 AM on June 21, 2010 [5 favorites]

The black cast of the Simpsons is just the Hibberts, isn't it?

Yeah, looking at recent activity on my lunch break it occurred to me that the multitude of black characters that had turned up on my memory actually just consists of Dr Hibbert, Carl, and the boxer.

What minority is Dr Nick? He has an accent,

I'm not sure if he is a specific minority; he's just, "Oh no! A foreign doctor!" and both uneducated ("Did you go to Hollywood Upstairs Medical College too?") and comedy incompetent. Got to be quite galling to watch for the many foreign-born, qualified and competent doctors in America.

The Simpsons' attitude towards trans people is also utterly revolting, but that's par for the course; none of the three major animated shows coming out of the US has been able to resist having an unironic pop at us.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 4:40 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

Oh right, Carl. "The boxer" was supposed to be Mike Tyson, so they kind of had to make him black. Then again, Michael Jackson was played by a white guy....
posted by DU at 4:54 AM on June 21, 2010

Strangely beautiful in its hideousness. I liked it.
posted by A Thousand Baited Hooks at 4:57 AM on June 21, 2010

Like a nuclear power plant of nightmare fuel.
posted by pyrex at 5:18 AM on June 21, 2010

People, you are forgetting Bleeding Gums Murphy.

Also...isn't Dr. Nick supposed to be a parody of Elvis Presley's late-in-life doctor?
posted by pxe2000 at 5:20 AM on June 21, 2010

none of the three major animated shows coming out of the US has been able to resist having an unironic pop at us.

I bet the Family Guy episode where Quagmire's dad became trans pissed you off. It pissed me off and I'm cisgendered. But then, it's not a show one watches for its inclusive attitude.

The Kumars at No 42 probably do both.

The Kumars is made by British Asian actors and writers, though, so they can send up as many stereotypes as they see fit. Apu makes me feel a bit uncomfortable, though, particularly when racist relatives of mine in this nation of corner-shopkeepers see him and say 'but they are all like that!'
posted by mippy at 5:21 AM on June 21, 2010

I always thought Dr Nick was just drunk!
posted by mippy at 5:22 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

My what a recent event.
posted by grapefruitmoon at 5:38 AM on June 21, 2010

Needs more Paul and Linda McCartney.
posted by box at 5:52 AM on June 21, 2010

I bet the Family Guy episode where Quagmire's dad became trans pissed you off.

I mainly thought it was weird. It was like they wrote a well-meaning but clueless episode about someone's transition, then realised they'd forgotten to put any jokes in so they stripped out the B plot and put in that bit with Brian sleeping with her and then being disgusted. Seth Macfarlane did the rounds when it aired talking about how he thought trans people would be pretty pleased with the episode, so either he was trolling on an epic scale or he really didn't realise how offensive it was.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 5:55 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

i really liked this
posted by shakespeherian at 6:23 AM on June 21, 2010

Oh right, Carl. "The boxer" was supposed to be Mike Tyson, so they kind of had to make him black. Then again, Michael Jackson was played by a white guy....

Actually, Micheal Jackson played a white guy who thought he was Micheal Jackson. Which is... interesting.
posted by delmoi at 6:35 AM on June 21, 2010

The black cast of the Simpsons is just the Hibberts, isn't it?

One thing I've noticed in looking at old re-runs versus the current episodes is that seasons 3-6 or so actually have a lot of 'background' black characters, whose defining characteristic is not that they are black -- they're just part of the makeup of the town, in class, at work, etc. Episodes like When Homer Goes to College or the one in which teh Germans take over the power plant, for example.. it's quite remarkable in contrast to later seasons, where it seems that pretty much the only time a black character appears beyond the Hibberts and Carl is to play some cliched 'urban' character, voiced usually in an absurd stereotypical black accent by Hank Azaria.
posted by modernnomad at 6:37 AM on June 21, 2010 [3 favorites]

GO BACK TO RUSSIA!!!
posted by rocket88 at 6:39 AM on June 21, 2010

I cried towards the end of JTron's linked comic. That's not disturbing, that's just remarkably sweet. As a 20 something male, that is exactly how I communicate.
posted by mccarty.tim at 6:47 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

previously
posted by availablelight at 7:02 AM on June 21, 2010

i really liked it it too
posted by Potomac Avenue at 7:20 AM on June 21, 2010

and you don't make friends with salad.

I have direct proof that you can make friends with pasta salad.

Seth Macfarlane did the rounds when it aired talking about how he thought trans people would be pretty pleased with the episode, so either he was trolling on an epic scale or he really didn't realise how offensive it was.

Weird. I didn't find it offensive. I was fairly pleased with the episode. I also didn't find the comic "disturbing" so maybe my views are off kilter.

I think flechsig got the point, if there was one. And prototype_octavius.
posted by mrgrimm at 7:53 AM on June 21, 2010

Justinian: "The black cast of the Simpsons is just the Hibberts, isn't it?

GASP. How could you forget Carl? Carl Carlson?"

Lou the cop.
posted by Bonzai at 8:32 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

Dr. Nick is, indeed, based on Elvis' (and Jerry Lee Lewis') Dr. Feelgood, Dr. George Nichopoulos. The building he built to house his now-defunct practice is within walking distance of my house. So the Simpsons' Dr. Nick's accent is presumably supposed to be bad Greek.
posted by vibrotronica at 8:50 AM on June 21, 2010 [2 favorites]

I didn't find it offensive. I was fairly pleased with the episode.

The online trans community blew a collective gasket full of hot shit over it. It was extraordinary, and a bigger response than I would have expected considering that The Simpsons and South Park have been blowing raspberries at us for years and not engendered quite that level of flappery.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 8:51 AM on June 21, 2010

Interesting. I guess I would concur there. It seemed no worse than the treatment generally given on Simpsons, South Park, or pretty much everywhere.
posted by mrgrimm at 8:59 AM on June 21, 2010

And then they had to pause the disc and I told them the story above, on how I was first introduced to the concept of false memory AND syndication cuts and how I thought I was going crazy but this just proved that I wasn't.

The Murphy Brown episode where she delivers a baby has Murphy send her neurotic, Jewish producer Miles Silverberg (Grant Shaud) to her house to get some clothing. He arrives back to the hospital, disheveled and upset. Tells her a wild story about her crazy neighbor, who had mistaken Miles for a trespasser and threatened him with a shotgun.

Miles: "...and then you'll never believe what happened! He started firing aimlessly into the night! And all I could think was, "It always comes down to this: a gentile with a gun."

That entire part of the episode was missing in the version they released for syndication. Probably figured it was a bit too edgy. :)
posted by zarq at 9:36 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

In the Futurama pilot, Fry sees a man take a tube to "JFK, Jr airport!". Shoertly after airing, JFK. Jr died and for ever after it was dubbed to "Radio Mutant Hall", even on the DVDs I think.

The airport was never mentioned again and instead we got the South Street Spaceport.
posted by The Whelk at 9:39 AM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

I think the racism was there just to be ugly and gross, along with all the other ugly and gross things. Granted, ironic racism still can come across as real racism, or amuse people who actually are racists, so I don't exactly think it's tasteful or smart.
posted by mccarty.tim at 9:47 AM on June 21, 2010

so either he was trolling on an epic scale or he really didn't realise how offensive it was.

In Seth McFarlane's case it's usually both.
posted by blucevalo at 10:09 AM on June 21, 2010

for me it's about as interesting and suburban as still enjoying 'i wuv wucy' or 'duh? honeymooners!'

Still enjoy both of those shows immensely, so I guess that lands me in some meta-post-post-cynicism/irony zone that is heretofore unexplored by man.
posted by blucevalo at 10:14 AM on June 21, 2010

Like it or not, de gustibus ... I note that the oft-maligned Salvador Dali has his own museum, and Ralph Steadman lives which, along with the 'masterful' Picasso and Maakies, proves that, uhm, there's something for everybody.
posted by Twang at 11:31 AM on June 21, 2010

This is actually pretty close to how vegetarians experience the world. Especially in Nebraska.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:02 PM on June 21, 2010 [5 favorites]

Like it or not, de gustibus ... I note that the oft-maligned Salvador Dali has his own museum, and Ralph Steadman lives which, along with the 'masterful' Picasso and Maakies, proves that, uhm, there's something for everybody.
posted by Twang at 1:31 PM on June 21 [+] [!]

YOU TAKE THAT BACK ABOUT MAAKIES.
posted by jtron at 1:07 PM on June 21, 2010

I like a good muffuletta as much as the next guy, but I'm pretty sure that I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners were set in Manhattan and Brooklyn, respectively.
posted by box at 1:20 PM on June 21, 2010

I don't know if this episode marks when the show started sucking consistently, but it was a fairly preachy Capra-esque bit of television from writers who were otherwise poking fun at preachy people. Some of the writers clearly had a huge chip on their shoulders about people eating a hamburger.

Nope nope nope. At the end of the episode Lisa learns NOT to be preachy. And it also ends with Apu looking down on her for not being Vegan, a pretty clear message that there's no point in being preachy because there's always someone else who will look down on you in return, for not meeting their standards.

The point you're thinking of, where the show lost its sense of humor more or less permanently, is "Homer's Phobia," guest-starring John Waters. Homer's mean-spirited homophobia in that episode is totally unlike him (while often misinformed and ignorant, Homer had always been a live-and-let-live type of guy). In that case, they did break a core character in order to preach at the audience. (They did it again later, in the much worse episode where Homer and friends get guns.)
posted by drjimmy11 at 2:02 PM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

As for sentimentality, the show was always pretty sappy - sometimes for good, sometimes for bad - but since they had good comic characters to work with, it usually worked. Remember, the Simpsons was originally a parody of 80s-era sit-coms with Important Episodes. I always thought the emotional transition (Lisa gets upset, Homer is a kind of a jerk, Lisa is a jerk back, they both learn the lesson of not being jerks to each other) is pretty satisfying.

And I agree with Homer's Phobia, it just seemed way out of character with no explanation.


(Also, Lisa The vegetarian has a line that I have used on my Mom, who tends to confuse me and my brother's names, at least three times....

MARGE: BART! NO!
BART: What Mom ?
MARGE: Sorry, force of habit, LISA NO!

)
posted by The Whelk at 2:08 PM on June 21, 2010

No UK show would get away with Apu, I can tell you now.

Going off on a tangent here, I've watched all the QI I can get my hands on and I generally love it, but there are some eps where Alan Davies (who I generally like) will start doing an incredibly racist impersonation of Mexicans and I just drop my jaw in disbelief. There was one ep where even Stephen got in on it, which just made me sad. I suppose the perspective is different when you're in the UK as opposed to Texas, but it just seemed nasty and out of place to me.
posted by kmz at 2:32 PM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

The point you're thinking of, where the show lost its sense of humor more or less permanently, is "Homer's Phobia," guest-starring John Waters. Homer's mean-spirited homophobia in that episode is totally unlike him (while often misinformed and ignorant, Homer had always been a live-and-let-live type of guy). In that case, they did break a core character in order to preach at the audience. (They did it again later, in the much worse episode where Homer and friends get guns.)

Hmmf, really? I always thought this was very smart commentary on how otherwise nice middle-Americans turn into raving bigots, well-intentioned or not, when confronted with actual gay people.
posted by zvs at 2:48 PM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

kmz, I'm British and my brother and I feel exactly the same as you. It's really unpleasant and unfunny, yet apparently perfectly OK to virtually everyone else in the UK.

Having said that, I thought Stephen used to genuinely disapprove but expressed it mildly and comically in the same way he treats the occasional bout of homophobia.
posted by Quantum's Deadly Fist at 3:45 PM on June 21, 2010

Meh, I haven't actually watched the Simpsons in years. I think with Apu you have to remember the show started in '89, when maybe this kind 'good hearted' stereotyping was more acceptable. Or maybe you could still get away with it today, just look at Carlos Mencia, for example.
posted by delmoi at 4:22 PM on June 21, 2010

I just went downstairs and QI came on as I busied myself in the kitchen.

Other than Stephen's introduction and initial question, the first words spoken were by Alan in his brilliantly hilarious, all-purpose South American accent.

"What a coincidence,' I thought, before remembering he does it virtually every other episode.
posted by Quantum's Deadly Fist at 4:28 PM on June 21, 2010

In fairness, Apu is sort of constantly going from :yay good character!" to " What the fuck are you doing?" It swings wildly and it's super-strange, but if you're like me and the show ended after 8 or so seasons, it's ....not fine, but at least an effort was made, kinda.
posted by The Whelk at 4:41 PM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]

there are some eps where Alan Davies (who I generally like) will start doing an incredibly racist impersonation of Mexicans and I just drop my jaw in disbelief.

The UK doesn't have the best track record with Mexicans.
posted by ArmyOfKittens at 10:58 PM on June 21, 2010

No thank you.
posted by Bergamot at 1:05 AM on June 22, 2010

Also, is there any information about who the artist is? Because, unless he or she chose to post this anonymously, this "imgur" site probably stole it.

Artist's profile at SheezyArt and FurAffinity.

[Also via reddit].
posted by Lush at 3:05 AM on June 22, 2010

In fairness, Apu is sort of constantly going from :yay good character!" to " What the fuck are you doing?" It swings wildly and it's super-strange, but if you're like me and the show ended after 8 or so seasons, it's ....not fine, but at least an effort was made, kinda.

Yeah, I kind of get the impression that the writers have been apologizing for Apu's initial characterization since the episode where Homer gets him fired and rehired. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but it basically feels like they just throw everything at him and see what sticks, and there's very little consistent with him except that he's incredibly overworked.
posted by condour75 at 6:51 AM on June 22, 2010

I think the Mexican thing over here is like Apu over there - they aren't a visible minority, so it becomes okay to send them up in a way which would feel more offensive across the pond.
posted by mippy at 8:35 AM on June 22, 2010

Dr. Nick's voice is based on one of the animator's. I know 'cause he's come into the store I work in (we're right down the street from Fox Studios).
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 4:57 PM on June 22, 2010

Ten years ago I used this show in English class here in Japan, to demonstrate the countable vs. uncountable noun aspect of English. "Lisa, this is lamb, not a lamb."
posted by planetkyoto at 7:17 AM on June 25, 2010