Well I guess I must not be a true Simpsons fan since I liked the movie. I still enjoy the show. Though I didn't start watching it until around season 11 or 12.
The Simpsons used to have messages, though. It was funny, but it was also as heartwarming and values-based as any sitcom this side of The Cosby Show. The characters are all good at heart, and when they screw up (they always screw up somehow), they fix their mistakes and learn from them. Living your life by the virtues The Simpsons taught in the first few seasons would mean being compassionate, loyal to your family and friends, respecting intellectual and artistic ventures, disrespecting authority and institutions, and laughing even when your life is in the sewer. You could pick a worse family to be raised by.The Simpsons no longer teaches. Maybe all the plots that allowed the Simpsons to grow and discover things about themselves and the world have been done, and there are no more fresh ways to explore the characters' relationships, so the writers are forced to focus more on pop-culture jokes and gimicky storylines. Maybe now that the show is an institution, Matt Groening and the writing staff no longer have to prove themselves by making episodes that say something. Whatever the case, the show isn't the one I grew up with, which is too bad—not bad for me, but bad for the generation now growing up in the glow of the television. Who's going to teach them how to be good people in this cartoon world of ours? Family Guy? South Park?
I wish Family Guy didn't keep getting knocked as being a poor standard by which The Simpsons is now measured. That's a good article, but The Simpsons was special and exceptional. It isn't the job of Family Guy to fill that gap and in fact it perfectly achieves what it wants to achieve. I love it, but I watch it for very different reasons than I watched The Simpsons for at its best.
Quote from: Jon on November 16, 2010, 12:53:41 AMI wish Family Guy didn't keep getting knocked as being a poor standard by which The Simpsons is now measured. That's a good article, but The Simpsons was special and exceptional. It isn't the job of Family Guy to fill that gap and in fact it perfectly achieves what it wants to achieve. I love it, but I watch it for very different reasons than I watched The Simpsons for at its best.Oh God Jon, I think I'd rather be waterboarded for a full day, rather than watch 30 minutes of Family Guy.
Quote from: Antares on November 16, 2010, 01:14:36 AMQuote from: Jon on November 16, 2010, 12:53:41 AMI wish Family Guy didn't keep getting knocked as being a poor standard by which The Simpsons is now measured. That's a good article, but The Simpsons was special and exceptional. It isn't the job of Family Guy to fill that gap and in fact it perfectly achieves what it wants to achieve. I love it, but I watch it for very different reasons than I watched The Simpsons for at its best.Oh God Jon, I think I'd rather be waterboarded for a full day, rather than watch 30 minutes of Family Guy. That sounds like me when it comes to 'American Dad'.
The Simpson's never did a musical number to match Family Guy, which do several a series...