I, for one, welcome our new soundalike overlords
May 14, 2015 3:00 AM Subscribe
On the heels of renewal through its 28th season, a perennial contract dispute (with a twist) has at long last claimed one of The Simpsons' foundational cast members. Harry Shearer, the versatile artist behind such indelible characters as Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns, Smithers, Principal Skinner, Kent Brockman, McBain, Dr. Hibbert, Rev. Lovejoy, Dr. Marvin Monroe, Otto-man, Lenny, and dozens of others will be departing the show at the end of the current season. Of course, the show must go on.
"Stop! Stop! He's already dead!"
posted by Elementary Penguin at 3:06 AM on May 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by Elementary Penguin at 3:06 AM on May 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
I couldn't read through all the underlined links on my phone, and thought this was an obit. He aten't dead!
posted by wenestvedt at 3:07 AM on May 14, 2015
posted by wenestvedt at 3:07 AM on May 14, 2015
Finally! They won't have to tease us with the death of a single character. Look for the upcoming mass murder Simpsons season finale!
posted by fairmettle at 3:08 AM on May 14, 2015 [17 favorites]
posted by fairmettle at 3:08 AM on May 14, 2015 [17 favorites]
The worst thing about the renewal for season 28? It includes renewal for season 27!
posted by chavenet at 3:10 AM on May 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by chavenet at 3:10 AM on May 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
How on earth could The Simpsons continue with the loss of the voice of so many characters? To hire enough people to make up for all of them seems like it should dwarf any one actor's pay.
posted by JHarris at 3:13 AM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by JHarris at 3:13 AM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
The show stopped being funny* almost twenty years ago. It's over. Just let it be over, damn it.
*Funny and excellent in its unique way. Later episodes had funny moments, but lacked that inimitable wit or any kind of emotional reality.
posted by clockzero at 3:13 AM on May 14, 2015 [10 favorites]
*Funny and excellent in its unique way. Later episodes had funny moments, but lacked that inimitable wit or any kind of emotional reality.
posted by clockzero at 3:13 AM on May 14, 2015 [10 favorites]
The show stopped being funny almost twenty years ago.At this point I only watch it so the Dead Homer Society's Compare & Contrast articles make sense.
posted by Auz at 3:18 AM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
I am still a little baffled on exactly what this debate centers around, especially given the show's sad, but inevitable slide into failure and eventual obscurity. The center does not hold, neighboroonie!
posted by Samizdata at 3:28 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Samizdata at 3:28 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Well, he says:
For many years now, the cast of “The Simpsons” has been trying to get Fox to agree that, like so many other people who’ve contributed significantly to the show’s success, we be allowed a tiny share of the billions of dollars in profits the show has earned. Fox has consistently refused to even consider the matter. Instead, it’s paid us salaries that, while ridiculous by any normal standard, pale in comparison to what the show’s profit participants have been taking home.
Now, as the show enters its twenty-third season, we are engaged in what will probably be our last contract negotiation with Fox. As you may have heard, the network has taken the position that “The Simpsons” no longer makes enough money and that unless we in the cast accept a 45% pay cut, they are not going to bring the show back for a twenty-fourth season.
Good for Shearer, best of luck to him.
As far as the show, I mean I liked him better in Spinal Tap but whatever.
posted by cotton dress sock at 3:36 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
For many years now, the cast of “The Simpsons” has been trying to get Fox to agree that, like so many other people who’ve contributed significantly to the show’s success, we be allowed a tiny share of the billions of dollars in profits the show has earned. Fox has consistently refused to even consider the matter. Instead, it’s paid us salaries that, while ridiculous by any normal standard, pale in comparison to what the show’s profit participants have been taking home.
Now, as the show enters its twenty-third season, we are engaged in what will probably be our last contract negotiation with Fox. As you may have heard, the network has taken the position that “The Simpsons” no longer makes enough money and that unless we in the cast accept a 45% pay cut, they are not going to bring the show back for a twenty-fourth season.
Good for Shearer, best of luck to him.
As far as the show, I mean I liked him better in Spinal Tap but whatever.
posted by cotton dress sock at 3:36 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
cotton dress sock, that link was background on the contract dispute from 2011; judging by his Twitter feed, the thing that made him walk today was not salary but rather not being permitted to work on other projects.
posted by Rhaomi at 3:38 AM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by Rhaomi at 3:38 AM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Ah right - ok, thank you. I still prefer Spinal Tap.
posted by cotton dress sock at 3:42 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by cotton dress sock at 3:42 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
cotton dress sock: "Ah right - ok, thank you. I still prefer Spinal Tap."
And who, with any taste at all, doesn't?
posted by Samizdata at 3:43 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
And who, with any taste at all, doesn't?
posted by Samizdata at 3:43 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Contract disputes aside, some performers might be ready to retire after 62 years in the business. The dude was in the pilot of Leave It to Beaver!
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:47 AM on May 14, 2015 [20 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:47 AM on May 14, 2015 [20 favorites]
Considering he played so many foundational characters of Springfield, any odds the Simpsons will move to a new town?
posted by GhostintheMachine at 3:54 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by GhostintheMachine at 3:54 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Not Lenny!
posted by Paragon at 3:55 AM on May 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
posted by Paragon at 3:55 AM on May 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
Wonders if this could become a "Top Gear" situation. The other cast members go...well if Harry's leaving, then we can't do this properly. And they just decide maybe we should bow out too. Can't have the Beatles with out Paul.
posted by ShawnString at 3:59 AM on May 14, 2015
posted by ShawnString at 3:59 AM on May 14, 2015
ah nuts.
Top Gear was already rebooted, wasn't it? Clarkson wasn't the first presenter, just the most leather jacketed and corduroy jeaned.
posted by Swandive at 4:06 AM on May 14, 2015
Top Gear was already rebooted, wasn't it? Clarkson wasn't the first presenter, just the most leather jacketed and corduroy jeaned.
posted by Swandive at 4:06 AM on May 14, 2015
It's finally time for the George R.R. Martin crossover.
posted by ryoshu at 4:10 AM on May 14, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by ryoshu at 4:10 AM on May 14, 2015 [7 favorites]
>You can't have the Beatles without Paul
In animation? Sure you can. You don't even need The Beatles.
posted by Devonian at 4:10 AM on May 14, 2015
In animation? Sure you can. You don't even need The Beatles.
posted by Devonian at 4:10 AM on May 14, 2015
Yes, Top Gear started in 1977 and for a long time was a fairly straight-up car and motorcycle review and magazine show. Clarkson joined this incarnation in 1988. It was canned in 2001, then rebooted in 2002 into the format that ran until this year.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 4:23 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by GallonOfAlan at 4:23 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
At this point I only watch it so the Dead Homer Society's Compare & Contrast articles make sense.
Jeez, that's rought stuff! Reading their extremely Simpsons-erudite deconstructions, you're reminded of using a bazooka to kill a fly, but on the other hand it's a really fucking annoying fly, whose...personality...used to be much more...entertaining
Well, you know what I mean.
posted by clockzero at 4:32 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Jeez, that's rought stuff! Reading their extremely Simpsons-erudite deconstructions, you're reminded of using a bazooka to kill a fly, but on the other hand it's a really fucking annoying fly, whose...personality...used to be much more...entertaining
Well, you know what I mean.
posted by clockzero at 4:32 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
I decline to be used as a cheering section for either side in a contract negotiation between a rich person and a rich corporation. And I still love the show.
posted by sheldman at 4:39 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by sheldman at 4:39 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
The best part will be ten years after the Simpsons finally goes off the air, when it gets rebooted with a live-action film.
posted by Elementary Penguin at 4:39 AM on May 14, 2015
posted by Elementary Penguin at 4:39 AM on May 14, 2015
You can't have the Beatles without Paul
That probably wasn't the best analogy.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:55 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
That probably wasn't the best analogy.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:55 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Would their contract with him prevent them using re-edits of all the past voiceover work for future episodes?
posted by kerplunk at 4:58 AM on May 14, 2015
posted by kerplunk at 4:58 AM on May 14, 2015
Considering he played so many foundational characters of Springfield, any odds the Simpsons will move to a new town?
Not a chance; that's too daring. But it would be a really amazing shake-up that could kick The Simpsons out of a rut.
They'll just find someone new to do the voices. I don't think it'll be that hard. The voices will change a little, but there are a lot of talented voice artists out there that can mimic voices well. And none of those characters have really natural or non-cartoonish voices that are unique to an individual. (Lots of people can do Bugs Bunny because his voice is so affected and not a natural speaking voice. Characters like Otto are the same.) I bet the rest of the cast is a little nervous that Fox is about to learn about whether voice actors are replaceable.
posted by painquale at 4:58 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Not a chance; that's too daring. But it would be a really amazing shake-up that could kick The Simpsons out of a rut.
They'll just find someone new to do the voices. I don't think it'll be that hard. The voices will change a little, but there are a lot of talented voice artists out there that can mimic voices well. And none of those characters have really natural or non-cartoonish voices that are unique to an individual. (Lots of people can do Bugs Bunny because his voice is so affected and not a natural speaking voice. Characters like Otto are the same.) I bet the rest of the cast is a little nervous that Fox is about to learn about whether voice actors are replaceable.
posted by painquale at 4:58 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
often, so often a little slice of The Simpons pops into my head and I chuckle, why just today I was doing so remembering Homer in Flanders' bomb shelter voting Ned out while sotto apologising Todd and Rod. I haven't watched in years, but I will miss him.
posted by mattoxic at 5:02 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by mattoxic at 5:02 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I wonder if when the writers penned the "you'll never stop the Simpsons" gag in season 8 (or whatever) if they had anticipated how true that would be.
posted by codacorolla at 5:29 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by codacorolla at 5:29 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Considering he played so many foundational characters of Springfield, any odds the Simpsons will move to a new town?
They've dug themselves into a happy little rut in Springfield, and they're not about to hoist themselves out of it.
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 5:30 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
They've dug themselves into a happy little rut in Springfield, and they're not about to hoist themselves out of it.
posted by The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal at 5:30 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Finally, the show becomes unprofitable, as promised by the holy prophet Troy.
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:34 AM on May 14, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by Pope Guilty at 5:34 AM on May 14, 2015 [7 favorites]
At this point I only watch it so the Dead Homer Society's Compare & Contrast articles make sense.
All you Simpsons fanboys (and girls) should read that blog, it's weird and obsessive but insightful.
One thing they point out, in comparing what they call Zombie Simpsons to The Simpsons (i.e., modern to classic), is that in the contemporary episodes, the characters barely ever do things: they mostly walk around scenery, spouting exposition and explanation, until suddenly the episode is over. In The Simpsons, characters do things; they physically interact with their environment, for example, because they need to get another character physically out of the way to reach an object they want, maybe. In Zombie Simpsons, they're just talking heads moving around in a world that has no sense of physicality, and thus they can't inhabit it. They don't have agendas in any given scene that are rooted in place and character, thus they don't have constraints that make their actions consequential, which is a big reason why the show is a pile of puke now.
I think this weird ontological tic was partially brought on by family guy and it shitty progeny, in which characters mostly just stand around gabbing at each other, because anything more complex than that would be incomprehensible for the demographic trifecta of the stupid, the stoned, and the Both.
posted by clockzero at 5:56 AM on May 14, 2015 [13 favorites]
All you Simpsons fanboys (and girls) should read that blog, it's weird and obsessive but insightful.
One thing they point out, in comparing what they call Zombie Simpsons to The Simpsons (i.e., modern to classic), is that in the contemporary episodes, the characters barely ever do things: they mostly walk around scenery, spouting exposition and explanation, until suddenly the episode is over. In The Simpsons, characters do things; they physically interact with their environment, for example, because they need to get another character physically out of the way to reach an object they want, maybe. In Zombie Simpsons, they're just talking heads moving around in a world that has no sense of physicality, and thus they can't inhabit it. They don't have agendas in any given scene that are rooted in place and character, thus they don't have constraints that make their actions consequential, which is a big reason why the show is a pile of puke now.
I think this weird ontological tic was partially brought on by family guy and it shitty progeny, in which characters mostly just stand around gabbing at each other, because anything more complex than that would be incomprehensible for the demographic trifecta of the stupid, the stoned, and the Both.
posted by clockzero at 5:56 AM on May 14, 2015 [13 favorites]
I was in the....5th grade? When the Simpsons started. I'm 36 now. Yikes. When it does go off the air I'll be more sad for the loss of a cultural touchstone, the creature-comfort of the never-changing aspect of it, WAY more than the actual show itself. I really only ever watched the first 5 or 6 seasons.
I get my animated humor from Bob's Burgers.
posted by Windigo at 5:58 AM on May 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
I get my animated humor from Bob's Burgers.
posted by Windigo at 5:58 AM on May 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
Very funny, nobody works on the Simpsons since it achieved sentience several decades ago.
posted by dr_dank at 6:01 AM on May 14, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by dr_dank at 6:01 AM on May 14, 2015 [8 favorites]
The heart wants what it wants.
posted by boo_radley at 6:03 AM on May 14, 2015
posted by boo_radley at 6:03 AM on May 14, 2015
Christ, TV is a gold mine.
posted by gwint at 6:07 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by gwint at 6:07 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Contract disputes aside, some performers might be ready to retire after 62 years in the business. The dude was in the pilot of Leave It to Beaver
I had not heard that bit of trivia before, but a quick trip to Wikipedia confirms it. Not only that, but if his parents had let him continue, he could have been arguably the most iconic character on the show (for years I have referred to two-faced suck-ups as "Eddie Haskell" and even today most people know who I am talking about.) On top of that, he was already experienced as an actor by then, having appeared on the Jack Benny Show and in The Robe. I had no idea his show business roots go back so far!
posted by TedW at 6:16 AM on May 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
I had not heard that bit of trivia before, but a quick trip to Wikipedia confirms it. Not only that, but if his parents had let him continue, he could have been arguably the most iconic character on the show (for years I have referred to two-faced suck-ups as "Eddie Haskell" and even today most people know who I am talking about.) On top of that, he was already experienced as an actor by then, having appeared on the Jack Benny Show and in The Robe. I had no idea his show business roots go back so far!
posted by TedW at 6:16 AM on May 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
I think he's just tired. He was born in 1943, which makes him 72 years old.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:17 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 6:17 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
He recently gave an interview on Marc Maron's podcast that made him seem pretty spry and lively still. He's much younger in health and spirit than his age suggests.
It was a fun interview because Maron didn't shy away from talking about how he's considered such a hard-ass curmudgeon by so many people. Shearer went into a bunch of his celebrity grudges.
posted by painquale at 6:26 AM on May 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
It was a fun interview because Maron didn't shy away from talking about how he's considered such a hard-ass curmudgeon by so many people. Shearer went into a bunch of his celebrity grudges.
posted by painquale at 6:26 AM on May 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
I'd love nothing more than for the Church of Scientology to no longer receive X% of Nancy Cartwright's $300,000 per episode upon this show's cancellation.
posted by almostmanda at 6:31 AM on May 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by almostmanda at 6:31 AM on May 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
Al Jean confirms the exit and says Smithers and Burns aren't going to be killed off.
posted by sparkletone at 6:35 AM on May 14, 2015
posted by sparkletone at 6:35 AM on May 14, 2015
Well, at least all the vocal cord changes will prevent a city wide outbreak of throat spiders.
posted by Drinky Die at 6:51 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Drinky Die at 6:51 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Of course, the show must go on.
Must it, though?
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:56 AM on May 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
Must it, though?
posted by T.D. Strange at 6:56 AM on May 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
MEN-DOH-ZAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!
posted by colie at 7:22 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by colie at 7:22 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
My memory from having heard Shearer on some long-form chat show, possibly Howard Stern, is that he's been in similar disputes with Fox almost from the first, and that he agrees with much of the sentiment in this thread: the show died on two legs a long, long time ago, and has been a dud ever since. He was, in line with his reputation—which painquale alluded to above—very easily mistaken for a curmudgeon, and not only about The Simpsons. He may even be one. But a more charitable interpretation of his attitude toward show business, particularly television, is that he's been in it since he was a child, and is tired of the childishness of so many people with power—and of feeling alternately exploited and squashed.
posted by dogurthr at 7:48 AM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by dogurthr at 7:48 AM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Despite having grown up loving the Simpsons, if you ask me, the most significant artistic contribution the Simpsons have made to world media is that they provide a guaranteed income to Harry Shearer as he pursues his own artistic endeavors. (Even when he's being a pedantic child - as when railing against the initial "so" on Le Show - he's still more entertaining than anything the Simpsons' writers have come up with in more than a decade.)
Once they stop providing that service, the Simpsons and the Fox Network can go jump in the sea as far as I'm concerned. Since I haven't watched them in years, a boycott wouldn't really matter much. But now I'm gonna not watch them on purpose.
posted by eotvos at 8:02 AM on May 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Once they stop providing that service, the Simpsons and the Fox Network can go jump in the sea as far as I'm concerned. Since I haven't watched them in years, a boycott wouldn't really matter much. But now I'm gonna not watch them on purpose.
posted by eotvos at 8:02 AM on May 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'd love nothing more than for the Church of Scientology to no longer receive X% of Nancy Cartwright's $300,000 per episode upon this show's cancellation.
Who keeps Simpsons on the air, they doooo, they dooooo.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:06 AM on May 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
Who keeps Simpsons on the air, they doooo, they dooooo.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:06 AM on May 14, 2015 [11 favorites]
Jean confirmed to the New York Times, "We do not plan to kill off characters like Burns and Flanders but will recast with the finest voiceover talent available."*
Mr. Burns: Get me Steven Spielberg.
Smithers: He's unavailable.
Mr. Burns: Then get me his non-union Mexican equivalent.
* for the lowest cost possible
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:16 AM on May 14, 2015 [10 favorites]
Mr. Burns: Get me Steven Spielberg.
Smithers: He's unavailable.
Mr. Burns: Then get me his non-union Mexican equivalent.
* for the lowest cost possible
posted by Doktor Zed at 8:16 AM on May 14, 2015 [10 favorites]
In the 90s I was a huge fan of when Shearer read from the LA Times real estate section on Le Show. (Haven't listened in a while, so dunno if he still does it.) He was hammering on inequality and the excesses of wealth way before it was cool. And making it funny in the process.
posted by Lyme Drop at 8:27 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Lyme Drop at 8:27 AM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
It's worth noting that Shearer has basically always been the "more money or I walk" guy from day one. This was a long time coming.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:37 AM on May 14, 2015
posted by Sys Rq at 8:37 AM on May 14, 2015
I'm a late-era Simpsons apologist, and even I think this should spell the end of the show. (I actually thought they should have wrapped things up after Marcia Wallace died.)
posted by Atom Eyes at 8:42 AM on May 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Atom Eyes at 8:42 AM on May 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
I wonder what is going through the mind of Hank Azaria's agent right now?
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 8:42 AM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by He Is Only The Imposter at 8:42 AM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
(I actually thought they should have wrapped things up after Marcia Wallace Phil Hartman died.)
posted by Sys Rq at 8:48 AM on May 14, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by Sys Rq at 8:48 AM on May 14, 2015 [8 favorites]
At last! This is the perfect time to finally promote Ozmodiar to series regular! And Roy!
posted by entropicamericana at 8:48 AM on May 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 8:48 AM on May 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
Christ, TV is a gold mine.
Is this something I'd need a career in television to understand?
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:54 AM on May 14, 2015
Is this something I'd need a career in television to understand?
posted by Celsius1414 at 8:54 AM on May 14, 2015
Even though it's mostly limited to, "All this time, I've been smoking harmless tobacco!" and "I like to put my feet up," I've been told I do a passable Mr. Burns, and I'll work relatively cheaply... hmmm... no, my conscience wouldn't let me do it. And 'The Scabsons' headlines would cut too deep.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:59 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:59 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've been told I do a passable Mr. Burns, and I'll work relatively cheaply...
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:59 AM on May 14
"Smithers, have Alan Alda killed."
"But sir, that isn't—"
"Do as I say!"
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:25 AM on May 14, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 8:59 AM on May 14
"Smithers, have Alan Alda killed."
"But sir, that isn't—"
"Do as I say!"
posted by Atom Eyes at 9:25 AM on May 14, 2015 [10 favorites]
I think they'll manage to maintain their current standards of quality.
posted by skewed at 9:46 AM on May 14, 2015 [8 favorites]
posted by skewed at 9:46 AM on May 14, 2015 [8 favorites]
Samizdata: "I am still a little baffled on exactly what this debate centers around, especially given the show's sad, but inevitable slide into failure and eventual obscurity. The center does not hold, neighboroonie!"
That's neighborino. Argument invalidated.
posted by Splunge at 9:47 AM on May 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
That's neighborino. Argument invalidated.
posted by Splunge at 9:47 AM on May 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
This whole discussion is going to seem so passé when The Simpsons 100th season debuts in October 2089.
posted by fairmettle at 10:07 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by fairmettle at 10:07 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
> (I actually thought they should have wrapped things up after Marcia Wallace Phil Hartman died.)
They did. "The Simpsons" as we knew it ended, and its spirit was allowed to pass on to a higher plane in a process the television elders refer to as Futurama.
posted by Johann Georg Faust at 10:30 AM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
They did. "The Simpsons" as we knew it ended, and its spirit was allowed to pass on to a higher plane in a process the television elders refer to as Futurama.
posted by Johann Georg Faust at 10:30 AM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos.
posted by JaredSeth at 11:07 AM on May 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by JaredSeth at 11:07 AM on May 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
But they can change them and no one would know the diddly-ifference.
posted by Talez at 11:10 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Talez at 11:10 AM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
"Quick, Smithers! Call out the hounds!"
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 11:36 AM on May 14, 2015
posted by Seekerofsplendor at 11:36 AM on May 14, 2015
Fifteen or even ten years ago this thread would be up to 500 comments by now. As it is...meh. I used to live The Simpsons, and I've got tons of treasured memories of watching it with friends when I was in university (during the show's golden years). I never thought it would keep going to a point where I didn't even care if it was still on the air or not, but here we are.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:55 AM on May 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:55 AM on May 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
“I’m not the principal of the line, Mother”: Seymour Skinner’s Finest Moments
posted by kmz at 12:13 PM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by kmz at 12:13 PM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Harry Shearer could come back to "The Simpsons" after all...
posted by fairmettle at 12:40 PM on May 14, 2015
posted by fairmettle at 12:40 PM on May 14, 2015
(Lots of people can do Bugs Bunny because his voice is so affected and not a natural speaking voice. Characters like Otto are the same.)
Yeah, but Bugs not voiced by Mel Blanc is not really the same. It's very much as if Mel Blanc had left Warner Bros (his son Noel voiced some cartoons when Mel was laid up after a car accident, but it was not made public at the time). I mean, Kermit is still around, but I can definitely tell it's no longer Jim Henson.
However, I gave up watching The Simpsons at around season 14, so I guess it's more about the principle of the thing. Harry Shearer invented some of these characters. Then again, Apu was Shearer's creation, which is one of the most problematic racial stereotypes on the show, so...
posted by krinklyfig at 2:01 PM on May 14, 2015
Yeah, but Bugs not voiced by Mel Blanc is not really the same. It's very much as if Mel Blanc had left Warner Bros (his son Noel voiced some cartoons when Mel was laid up after a car accident, but it was not made public at the time). I mean, Kermit is still around, but I can definitely tell it's no longer Jim Henson.
However, I gave up watching The Simpsons at around season 14, so I guess it's more about the principle of the thing. Harry Shearer invented some of these characters. Then again, Apu was Shearer's creation, which is one of the most problematic racial stereotypes on the show, so...
posted by krinklyfig at 2:01 PM on May 14, 2015
I never thought it would keep going to a point where I didn't even care if it was still on the air or not, but here we are.
Yeah, I think it proves the point made when Bill Watterson and Berke Breathed retired their strips. Or when any tv show keeps going on its own momentum, long after the creative fire has gone out. Animation allows for a non-aging cast of characters, but it doesn't prevent the atrophy of creative energy.
posted by krinklyfig at 2:07 PM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I think it proves the point made when Bill Watterson and Berke Breathed retired their strips. Or when any tv show keeps going on its own momentum, long after the creative fire has gone out. Animation allows for a non-aging cast of characters, but it doesn't prevent the atrophy of creative energy.
posted by krinklyfig at 2:07 PM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Yeah, at this point I'm kind of happy at the thought of any event that might precipitate the end of the show, short of somebody else dying. To be honest I can't even imagine the show without Marcia Wallace. It was such a hugely formative part of my high school/early adult years, but it lost its soul years ago. Even with FXX running hours and hours of the The Simpsons on any given weeknight, the odds of catching more than 1 or 2 pre-1998ish* episodes are still lousy because there are just so many more that have been made since.
*I don't remember exactly when I gave up, but I think it was around then. It was already sliding by the time Phil Hartmann died; I remember his last episode being kind of weak, and feeling sad about that.
posted by usonian at 2:16 PM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
*I don't remember exactly when I gave up, but I think it was around then. It was already sliding by the time Phil Hartmann died; I remember his last episode being kind of weak, and feeling sad about that.
posted by usonian at 2:16 PM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I never thought it would keep going to a point where I didn't even care if it was still on the air or not, but here we are.
Despite (or because of) having the first five magnificent seasons on DVD, I reached that point around season nine. By the time the Simpsons Movie came out, the show's unending streak of episodes was in danger of overshadowing its early brilliance. At this point, the once-vital Simpsons characters feel like pod-person clones, and the show is evidently never going to be put out of its misery, nor the fans out of ours.
But, hey, Rick and Morty are visiting the Simpsons for an upcoming extended couch segment that may or may not be an oblique comment on the status quo, so things aren't all bad.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:55 PM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Despite (or because of) having the first five magnificent seasons on DVD, I reached that point around season nine. By the time the Simpsons Movie came out, the show's unending streak of episodes was in danger of overshadowing its early brilliance. At this point, the once-vital Simpsons characters feel like pod-person clones, and the show is evidently never going to be put out of its misery, nor the fans out of ours.
But, hey, Rick and Morty are visiting the Simpsons for an upcoming extended couch segment that may or may not be an oblique comment on the status quo, so things aren't all bad.
posted by Doktor Zed at 2:55 PM on May 14, 2015 [5 favorites]
Seekerofsplendor: ""Quick, Smithers! Call out the hounds!""
Release the hounds.
Come on people, you're not even trying.
posted by Splunge at 3:00 PM on May 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
Release the hounds.
Come on people, you're not even trying.
posted by Splunge at 3:00 PM on May 14, 2015 [6 favorites]
Between Shearer's Simpsons loot and the fact that Christopher Guest is a baron, do you think Michael McKean is the one calling the others and saying, "Hey guys, think it's time for another Spinal Tap tour?"
posted by thecjm at 3:48 PM on May 14, 2015
posted by thecjm at 3:48 PM on May 14, 2015
Come on people, you're not even trying.
I thought it was referencing or in a similar vein as this.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 4:02 PM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
I thought it was referencing or in a similar vein as this.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 4:02 PM on May 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Al Jean's "Maggie took it hard" seems like a really cruddy dismissal of someone who's done so much for the show for the last 25 years.
posted by yellowbinder at 4:04 PM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by yellowbinder at 4:04 PM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oh, I thought that was a reference to Maggie Roswell, one of the cast?
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 4:07 PM on May 14, 2015
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 4:07 PM on May 14, 2015
Going back though, I think you're right.
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 4:12 PM on May 14, 2015
posted by Rev. Syung Myung Me at 4:12 PM on May 14, 2015
Al Jean's "Maggie took it hard" seems like a really cruddy dismissal of someone who's done so much for the show for the last 25 years.
Yeah, but there's a bit of a backstory there.
From Wikipedia:
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:22 PM on May 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Yeah, but there's a bit of a backstory there.
From Wikipedia:
In 2004, Shearer criticized what he perceived as the show's declining quality: "I rate the last three seasons as among the worst, so season four looks very good to me now."Al Jean took over as head show runner in 2001.
posted by Atom Eyes at 4:22 PM on May 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
Then again, Apu was Shearer's creation, which is one of the most problematic racial stereotypes on the show, so...
Apu is voiced by Hank Azaria.
posted by kingoftonga86 at 4:25 PM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Apu is voiced by Hank Azaria.
posted by kingoftonga86 at 4:25 PM on May 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Al Jean either is attempting to negotiate with Shearer via the press or doing some serious damage control to entice future candidates for his roles. He's just done an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, in which he conspicuously points out, "You know, there's a Simpsons ride at Universal Studios that Harry didn't do. He's not in it. He didn't want the deal that everybody else took. And people love it — and I've never heard anybody say they miss him."
He goes on to say, "I feel we've done everything we can to keep him on this show. We have made it a terrific job that's really well paying. He's won an Emmy for it. He has gotten acclaim worldwide. He can live in another country. He can phone it in and do whatever else he wants."
What apparently doesn't occur to Jean is that maybe a comedy luminary like Shearer doesn't want to be treated as though he's doing a job where he's just phoning it in.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:32 AM on May 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
He goes on to say, "I feel we've done everything we can to keep him on this show. We have made it a terrific job that's really well paying. He's won an Emmy for it. He has gotten acclaim worldwide. He can live in another country. He can phone it in and do whatever else he wants."
What apparently doesn't occur to Jean is that maybe a comedy luminary like Shearer doesn't want to be treated as though he's doing a job where he's just phoning it in.
posted by Doktor Zed at 11:32 AM on May 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
Right? It's like Al Jean is trying to passive-aggressively smear him as a layabout and/or turncoat, but really all I'm hearing is that Harry Shearer really is too good for the Zombie $impson$ Corporate Money Machine, has known it all along, and is officially sick of it. With a boss like Al Jean, it's surprising it took so long.
posted by Sys Rq at 12:03 PM on May 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Sys Rq at 12:03 PM on May 15, 2015 [2 favorites]
What apparently doesn't occur to Jean is that maybe a comedy luminary like Shearer doesn't want to be treated as though he's doing a job where he's just phoning it in.
Right? It's like Al Jean is trying to passive-aggressively smear him as a layabout and/or turncoat, but really all I'm hearing is that Harry Shearer really is too good for the Zombie $impson$ Corporate Money Machine, has known it all along, and is officially sick of it. With a boss like Al Jean, it's surprising it took so long.
Maybe. I think I know what it is, though. Check out this quote from Al Jean, from Doctor Zed's link above:
We made him an offer and we're once more saying, "Do you want to come back like everybody else and work hard and care about the show? Great."
They want Harry Shearer to come in and do table reads and stuff like that. They want him to stop literally phoning it in. Why the hell should he? He's set for life, and he's getting up there in years. Why in the world should he spend his time working hard on the garbage they're churning out? Really, why?
posted by clockzero at 12:16 PM on May 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
Right? It's like Al Jean is trying to passive-aggressively smear him as a layabout and/or turncoat, but really all I'm hearing is that Harry Shearer really is too good for the Zombie $impson$ Corporate Money Machine, has known it all along, and is officially sick of it. With a boss like Al Jean, it's surprising it took so long.
Maybe. I think I know what it is, though. Check out this quote from Al Jean, from Doctor Zed's link above:
We made him an offer and we're once more saying, "Do you want to come back like everybody else and work hard and care about the show? Great."
They want Harry Shearer to come in and do table reads and stuff like that. They want him to stop literally phoning it in. Why the hell should he? He's set for life, and he's getting up there in years. Why in the world should he spend his time working hard on the garbage they're churning out? Really, why?
posted by clockzero at 12:16 PM on May 15, 2015 [3 favorites]
So, he should say that. But he is making it about the money, as if he needs any more money. I'm all for creative people getting paid what they deserve, but seriously, he's 71. He doesn't need to work again. He can do whatever the fuck he wants without the Simpsons paycheck.
posted by crossoverman at 5:02 AM on May 16, 2015
posted by crossoverman at 5:02 AM on May 16, 2015
Yeah, I think the fact that he's in a creative industry is a total red herring. The most important thing is he's an important part of a hugely profitable business, and even if he doesn't *need* anymore money, I can totally understand not wanting to take a pay-cut so that more money can go into the pockets of the show's producers. It doesn't seem fair to put him in the position of "well, he's got enough money, why is he being so greedy?" I'd be asking for all I was worth if I were in his position, even if I were never going to recover a cent.
posted by skewed at 2:20 PM on May 16, 2015
posted by skewed at 2:20 PM on May 16, 2015
You can simultaneously make a ludicrous amount of money and still be underpaid.
posted by Chrysostom at 6:55 PM on May 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Chrysostom at 6:55 PM on May 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
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