# Simpsons 9/18 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 18, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281 "2005-09-18T23:55:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/21 "2005-09-19T03:15:13Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Someone made an observation to me today that I hadn’t ever thought of, but it makes a **hell** of a lot of sense: _The Simpsons_ are, to a reasonable extent, trying to be like _The Family Guy_. I don’t see it… ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/22 "2005-09-19T03:37:19Z")
They spoofed “Where the Wild Things Are.” Let me repeat that…THEY SPOOFED “WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE!” This may take over the title of “most pointless spoof” from the Evita thing they did a few years ago, which in turn won over the Phantom Menace spoof they did about two or three years after the movie came out. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/23 "2005-09-19T03:44:50Z")
Is there a statute of limitations on parodies? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/24 "2005-09-19T03:55:23Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Is there a statute of limitations on parodies? When it’s something specifically pop-culture like that? Kind of. When you take three years to make fun of something everyone else already made fun of, it’s a problem. And it’s true that a lot of their spoofing has been dated lately, probably because it takes so long to make an episode. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/25 "2005-09-19T04:14:47Z")
Well, from a plot purpose, it kind of made sense. What other children’s books are there out there that feature 1. Characters that are creepy-looking, but actually quite friendly 2. Fit into a plot of Lisa overcoming her real-life fears by thinking of said characters 3. Yeah, yeah, the **Opal** thing I imagine _Harry Potter_ could count, but keep in mind that 1. _The Simpsons_ already did a Harry Potter spoof 2. The Wild Monster book was the first book Lisa read, so Harry Potter wouldn’t be eligble because A) It didn’t exist when Lisa was a child B) It would be too long and difficult for a child to read C) Does it count in lists inside lists, too? 3. I know, I know. I’m not saying not to argue about it. I like arguing. I’m just saying that from a plot standpoint, a _Wild Things_-style book makes sense. Lisa is using these characters that gave her so much joy as a child to remind herself that even though cemeteries may look spooky based on what happens in them in horror films, they’re actually not that bad. Just like the Land of Wild Beasts. And, quite possibly, the Land of Wild Feasts. And for those who like to comment on outdated parodies: _Cats_ hasn’t been on Broadway for almost five years now. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/26 "2005-09-19T04:15:54Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > homer’s response to two servings of Jumbo Shrimp That’s bull\*\*\*\*, man! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/27 "2005-09-19T04:16:57Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > And for those who like to comment on outdated parodies: _Cats_ hasn’t been on Broadway for almost five years now. That’s true. Still, when that happened, I turned to my little brother and said “That was the greatest Itchy and Scratchy ever.” And I meant it. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/28 "2005-09-19T04:20:27Z")
I was just happy that there was an Itchy and Scratchy for the first time in what seems to be seasons. On the commentary, they’re always talking about how they have less time now so they don’t do Itchy and Scratchy or other extended things. Some episodes I swear they’d be better off if they were to make a whole act nothing but Itchy and Scratchy. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/29 "2005-09-19T04:24:23Z")
One last thought on outdated parodies that add nothing: I’ll see your _Evita_ parody and raise you Sideshow Bob singing a soundalike parody of _I’ve Grown Accusomed To Her Face_. (What’s the matter, too cheap to afford the real thing?) ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/30 "2005-09-19T04:27:01Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > When it’s something specifically pop-culture like that? I was referring more to the Sendak parody. I didn’t have a problem with the Evita parody from a timing standpoint; after all, they parodied “Mary Poppins” a few seasons back and the time lag there was about three times longer. I didn’t even really have a _huge_ problem with the George Lucas parody from a time lag standpoint, although I agree it was pretty late out of the gate. My problem with the George Lucas parody was that it sucked. The ep needed an excuse to get Marge and Homer to a winery and the writers chose a horrible way to go about it. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/31 "2005-09-19T04:34:05Z")
As a Simpsons fan, I feel I can say this: When are they going to retire the show already? Why not just go out now, on a graceful note? It has to end _sometime_… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/32 "2005-09-19T04:34:37Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > My problem with the George Lucas parody was that it sucked. The ep needed an excuse to get Marge and Homer to a winery and the writers chose a horrible way to go about it. Actually, I think they were getting back at Lucas for pulling out of a guest appearance. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/33 "2005-09-19T04:43:18Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > A heads up: no new Simpsons until 11/6 (this years Treehouse of Horror ep). Really? Why are they doing it this way? Anyway I didn’t see last weeks episode so this is the first new one I’ve seen in a while. I’d give it a 6 out of 10. P.S. Anyone catch the Iraq War referece? It’s the 1st one the Simpsons have done, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/34 "2005-09-19T05:11:45Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > P.S. Anyone catch the Iraq War referece? It’s the 1st one the Simpsons have done, isn’t it? I thought the joke in _Future-Drama_ about “Gulf War Five: Find the President’s Head” was sort of an Iraq War joke. And the season before that, there was an episode that ended with everyone singing “O, Canada” after a riot on a baseball field because the song is “a soothing hymn to peace, not a hymn to war, like our national anthem.” So there’s those. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/35 "2005-09-19T12:37:36Z")
CATS still has touring companies. Or do Itchy & Scraty live in New York City? I loved that bit; Scratcy commiting suicide is a new thing. The show was an average Simpsons, which is still better than 90% of TV. Definitely better than last weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/36 "2005-09-19T12:48:54Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > As a Simpsons fan, I feel I can say this: > > When are they going to retire the show already? Why not just go out now, on a graceful note? It has to end _sometime_… They’re about 7 years too late to end gracefully. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/37 "2005-09-19T13:50:58Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > When was it ever grounded in reality? Among the earliest episodes are scenes of the family car being crushed in the jaws of a truck-eating dinosaur robot with no injury to any family member, the Simpsons pumping enough electricity through each other to black out the city yet emerging unscathed and a US Representative being expelled from Congree in the course of a single afternoon. And that doesn’t even get into the idea that Lisa’s had about three birthdays yet is still 8, Bart’s passed 4th grade at least twice but is still a 4th grader, and so on. If the show had ever been grounded in reality, every member of the family would be dead 50 times over or in prison for life. How dare you bring facts and logic into this! [sub]Good points, though…[/sub] 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/38 "2005-09-19T14:10:04Z")
Nope. Didn’t like it. It was marginally better than last week, though. I agree that it’s (in a very small way) trying to be like **Family Guy**. Homer saying “That’s bull\*\*\*\*!” was very offputting. Also, when Homer mentioned that the brakes were shot on the racecar bed and they cut to Bart’s bed out of control in his room, I thought it was the kind of thing **Family Guy** does. At the end of the episode, I told my husband that they’re getting one more episode out of me and I may have to hang up my hat. Since my husband is a die-hard, he’s now asking for a divorce. 😉 We’re some of the last hold-outs that haven’t been as hard on the show as a lot of others, but I’m choosing to draw the line. If I had my choice between **The Simpsons** and about 12 other shows on TV, I would choose the 12 other shows. I no longer feel that it’s still better than most of what’s on TV today. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/39 "2005-09-19T14:18:03Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > Is the Family Guy actually beating The Simpsons in ratings now?\* If so, it would make a lot of sense that they are going for what sells, but I think it will be bad for the long term reputation of the show. I don’t think the Simpsons team is imitating Family Guy. (In fact, there was a comment on one of the DVDs that the Simpsons specifically avoid Family Guy-style “cutaway” gags.) They’re just trying to prolong a premise that’s been completely exhausted, and so resorting to absurdity and non-sequitors. I think you could argue Family Guy has better “buzz” than the Simpsons, especially among younger viewers who can barely remember a time when the Simpsons wasn’t on: basically young, college-age, typical [adult swim] viewers. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281/40 "2005-09-19T15:30:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Actually, I think they were getting back at Lucas for pulling out of a guest appearance. I was talking about within the context of the episode, not about whatever backstage axe the writers had to grind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/simpsons-9-18/322281.md?page=3)