# The Simpsons are on a roll **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 12, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924 "2011-12-12T17:37:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/1 "2011-12-12T17:37:11Z")
Two episodes in the past month have been thoroughly entertaining, and definitely up to the standards of the golden days (I mean, not as good as the greatest episodes, but as good as the solid episodes from the good old days)… the book heist episode from 2 or 3 weeks ago, and yesterday’s Christmas-future episode, which was fun and funny beginning to end. ---
**Author:** ![norvalnormal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@norvalnormal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norvalnormal)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/2 "2011-12-12T18:32:43Z")
It’s been years (wish I were being figurative here) since an episode was as entertaining as last night’s–bravo! ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/3 "2011-12-12T18:41:15Z")
yeah i thought the christmas future episode (Holidays of Future Passed (NABF18) s23e08) will rate as one of their best. the non-canonical episodes can yield some of the best. it is so good they are going to show it twice again this month (only once more in the Sunday slot). ---
**Author:** ![CJJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecc23a/32.png) [@CJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/4 "2011-12-12T18:53:44Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > yeah i thought the christmas future episode (Holidays of Future Passed (NABF18) s23e08) will rate as one of their best. the non-canonical episodes can yield some of the best. Really? There are some good ones, but given the lack of canon and consistency the temptation to over-do it is sometimes too much. I’m thinking of Grampa in suspended animation, the cloned Ralphs, and the whole virtual-world here…all went on just a bit too long. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/5 "2011-12-12T19:01:35Z")
> [@CJJ](#): > > Really? There are some good ones, but given the lack of canon and consistency the temptation to over-do it is sometimes too much. I’m thinking of Grampa in suspended animation, the cloned Ralphs, and the whole virtual-world here…all went on just a bit too long. The cloned Ralphs was gold, but I agree, the Super Internet and Grandma were too much. Just like Homer’s undersea house in the last future episode. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/6 "2011-12-12T23:25:11Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > The cloned Ralphs was gold, but I agree, the Super Internet and Grandma were too much. Just like Homer’s undersea house in the last future episode. The Homer thing was a reference to another episode where he said he wanted to live under the sea. Anywho… did anyone catch Bart’s kids’ names? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/7 "2011-12-13T00:36:45Z")
Shoot. I was hoping Grandpa would be a head in a jar ala _Futurama_, but no… ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/8 "2011-12-13T00:58:59Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Shoot. I was hoping Grandpa would be a head in a jar ala _Futurama_, but no… They did have at least one good _Futurama_ gag: one of the signs in the airport (or teleporter-port) said New New York. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/9 "2011-12-13T04:25:21Z")
Something I found odd: In the future Christmas card montage why, in two of them, did they seem to imply that _ **Lisa had gone lesbo?** _ A few clicks after she went goth they show her holding hands first with one, then two girlfriends? Did I miss something? Was that not what it was supposed to mean? Lisa is a flaming lib and all but nothing has ever even remotely suggested she would pitch for the other team… ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/10 "2011-12-13T04:37:45Z")
I assumed it was a LUG joke. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/11 "2011-12-13T05:27:30Z")
LUG joke, ok I get it (had to look it up). > [@TBG](#): > > Anywho… did anyone catch Bart’s kids’ names? I just watched it again, twice, and they never give Bart’s boys’ names! Kinda neat how they kept Jenda from the previous future episode… ---
**Author:** ![BeaMyra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@BeaMyra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeaMyra)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/12 "2011-12-13T10:47:48Z")
LUG = Lesbian Until Graduation I will say this episode was outstanding and it is one of the best ones they ever did. It goes back to the good old glory days. Perhaps maybe they should age those kids a few years, just so they can get with some new material. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/13 "2011-12-13T15:32:25Z")
It’s good that Bart’s finally going to turn his life around at age 40. I imagine it’ll all make an interesting story to tell in his law school application and Supreme Court Senate confirmation hearings. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/14 "2011-12-13T16:29:18Z")
I think this season got off to a weak start, but it’s gotten a lot stronger the last few weeks. I liked the recent Krusty episode along with this one and The Book Job. There was just a lot to like here. They got to the future in a clever way (although they did a lesser version of the same couch gag a few years ago), and I think that made a huge difference because they didn’t have to find some way to explain why they were showing us the future. They spent that time on the story instead. For me I think the high point of the episode was Bart and Lisa getting a little drunk on wine and having a heart-to-heart in the treehouse. That felt pretty real and it was a good twist on the characters as we know them. We also got to see Bart and Lisa dealing with Marge and Homer’s parenting from an adult perspective (and Marge’s comment about Homer becoming a good grandfather because he made _so many mistakes_), and from that standpoint, maybe this was the first future episode where it felt like they showed us Bart and Lisa as adults rather than as kids in the future. ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/15 "2011-12-14T01:47:30Z")
> [@Hail\_Ants](#): > > Something I found odd: In the future Christmas card montage why, in two of them, did they seem to imply that _ **Lisa had gone lesbo?** _ A few clicks after she went goth they show her holding hands first with one, then two girlfriends? Did I miss something? Was that not what it was supposed to mean? Lisa is a flaming lib and all but nothing has ever even remotely suggested she would pitch for the other team… Probably that crazy sophomore year at Smith College. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/16 "2011-12-14T02:07:36Z")
My only gripe, and it’s a really minor one, is while they included Jenda to link it with that previous future episode, it can’t really exist with some of the others, like Lisa’s Wedding or the one where she becomes president. I don’t mind, it was still funny, but if I had to come up with a complaint that was it. BTW, Lisa’s Wedding was set in 2010… lol ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/17 "2011-12-14T03:04:23Z")
while there might be some clever linkages in future episodes, since they are non-canonical then they don’t count just like dream sequences (pink) or for coma fantasies (goldenrod). ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/18 "2011-12-14T10:38:25Z")
> [@BeaMyra](#): > > I will say this episode was outstanding and it is one of the best ones they ever did. It goes back to the good old glory days. Perhaps maybe they should age those kids a few years, just so they can get with some new material. I watched a few new episodes yesterday, and I think a few of the secondary characters have aged, but more for the sake of preserving the old material. “The Ten-Per-Cent Solution” presented Krusty as being about 70 years old, which could even be real-time aging since the character was introduced. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/19 "2011-12-14T17:51:24Z")
> [@heathen\_earthling](#): > > “The Ten-Per-Cent Solution” presented Krusty as being about 70 years old, which could even be real-time aging since the character was introduced. I don’t think you can say Krusty has aged in real time. Over the course of the show they’ve extended his career (backward) as the jokes or plot dictate, with the general idea being that he’s been in show business forever and has represented almost every possible type of TV show. There’s one episode where they say he’s been on TV since at least 1961, which means he almost has to be 70. ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2011, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924/20 "2011-12-14T18:07:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I don’t think you can say Krusty has aged in real time. Over the course of the show they’ve extended his career (backward) as the jokes or plot dictate, with the general idea being that he’s been in show business forever and has represented almost every possible type of TV show. There’s one episode where they say he’s been on TV since at least 1961, which means he almost has to be 70. But if he was always meant to be 70, they could have done flashbacks in the '90s of him as an adult in the '40s, which they never did. As far as I recall, he’s always gotten his start in the '60s, so he was probably a middle-aged character when they created him. I do agree that this is inconclusive since they’ve never stated his exact age. There’s an old episode where Principal Skinner claims to be 44, which is now inconsistent with him being in the Vietnam War (which he still references sometimes, such as in the 2011 episode “Bart Stops to Smell the Roosevelts”). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-simpsons-are-on-a-roll/605924.md?page=2)