Save Ferris

Which are the best out of the seasons released on DVD so far?

bunkaroo

For me the classic start in S4 and S7-S8 are probably my favorite. Looking over the list of eps in S9, that's were it starts to get more sporadic. So I'd say the show hit its peak 10 years ago....wow. Still a great show though.

Save Ferris

Thank you! Im hesitant to get the earlier episodes. The few Ive seen seem really rough.

TyroneJordan

Anything before Season 10. they killed it at 13, buried it at 15, unburied it and burned it at season 17

Lee Harvey Oswald

I like the early seasons a lot. What do you mean by rough? The animation, or the overall show? The first 3 seasons may not be as good as 4-7, but they are really good and imo worth buying. There are many classic episodes. I never watched the show consistently on tv to judge any season not on dvd. But I do own all the dvds and love everyone of them.

Eric D.

I like the earlier seasons as well since those are the ones I watched the most when I was younger. I don't really care for seasons 10+, but I'll still watch them every now and then.

Seantn

Anything season 10 and beyond is unwatchable for me. I'd say seasons 4 thru 8 are the really great stuff. The new eps (anything past season 10) make me a little sad because it just feels like a different show with different characters that, unfortunatley, just aren't funny at all.

clckworang

^^^ I would agree with that seasons 4 through 8 are great, but I think 8 is where things started to slip just a bit (although I still think 8 was a great season and have many favorites from it).

Season 1 had its moments but was pretty rough, especially animation wise. They were just finding their footing, the actors establishing their voices and personas, etc. But I think seasons 2 and 3 are both very strong. They went on a multiple season run where pretty much every episode was comedy gold. That level of consistency couldn't last, but what an unbelievable run it was.

rocket1312

I've always maintained that the "Who Shot Mr. Burns" 2-parter which bridged seasons 6 and 7 was in many ways the creative peak of the show. IMHO, season 8 (which I still love), is when the cracks first start to show. I think I'll make it to season 10 on DVD, but things start to go downhill really fast after season 8.

Coincidentally, a few years back, there was an awesome episode guide book published which details seasons 1-8. There was a companion book released 2 years later which featured 9 and 10. As far as I know, there's never been another one. That's pretty much how I view the Simpsons. Seasons 1-8 are the true Simpsons, 9 and 10 are like a nice, but not essential companion, and everything after doesn't even merit mention.

All that said, 1,2 are definitely formative episodes. I actually like 1 more than 2, due to the fact that 2 felt more transitionary. Season 3 is when they start to figure out what it is they're all about, and is like the final warm-up. Season 4 is the first great season and is kind of like the pinnacle of "old school Simpsons." 5-7 is the true peak. The supporting characters all came into their own during this time, but the focus was still squarely on the Simpsons. There was also a great blend of the more grounded early seasons and the outlandishness that I feel is what ruined the show. Season 8 has some great stuff in it, but things start to unravel in my eyes.

clckworang

I totally agree about the getting more outlandish in later seasons hurting the show a lot. There always was a bit of that on the show, but it didn't overwhelm it. I appreciate how old-school Simpsons really liked telling a story, very often from beginning to end. Now, they always have to have an opening story in the first minutes that has nothing to do with where the episode is going. I also liked how they weren't afraid to really take their time. Now, they try to pack to many jokes into it.

I know I will probably get flamed for this (and I think I might have said this here before, don't remember for sure), but I compare present-day Simpsons to Family Guy, a show that I hate. It feels like Simpsons is a better version of Family Guy now, just stringing together random pop culture references and attempting to somehow tie a narrative into it as well. It's almost as if the success of Family Guy, which was a clear homage *cough* rip-off *cough* to The Simpons caused the show to go more in that direction. I don't know, but yes, I still watch the show, if for no other reason than because every season there are always a few standout episodes that remind you just how good of a show it once was.

Slayer2005

[Mr. Garrison Flame]YOU GO TO HELL! YOU GOT TO HELL AND YOU DIE![/Mr. Garrison flame]

The Simpsons wishes it could be a better version of Family Guy right now. It's not even close. If they're trying to do Family Guy style of humor they're not doing nearly as good as they should.

I hate how people dare to call Family Guy a Simpsons ripoff and then basically say The Simpsons is trying to be like Family Guy. The only similarities is if you describe a couple of the characters. Aside from the fact that a few sound similar they are still wildly different and the series don't seem much alike at all, especially compared to the older Simpsons.

I don't know why some people get so down on Family Guy for completely random jokes and references. That's what makes Family Guy Family Guy. That's what makes the show so funny. The fact that anything can happen and you never know what. Forget "proper" storytelling. That's not what Family Guy focuses on the most and I for one am glad there is something different out there that does things their own way instead of trying to follow "story telling rules". They are out to be funny, tell joke and make references. They have a story in there somewhere too though. Let Family Guy be Family Guy and The Simpsons be The Simpsons. I love that Family Guy can be so brutal to anyone or everything they make fun of.

For instance, the joke where Peter was doing Tara Reid's breast implant surgery while eating a pizza. Peter dropped a pepporoni on her breast and instead of picking it off he basically said "That'll do. Sew her up.". Now, this is a great joke that went WAY over many peoples' heads. Only those who have seen topless photos of her botched breast implant surgery understood how brutal this joke was and that's why it was so damn funny, because you immediately think "Holy crap! I can't believe they went there or even knew about that.". You would NEVER see something like that on The Simpsons. I like that they put little things in there show that you think no one else notices besides you.

Another example. I have 3 dogs. My big brown dog tends to circle like 10 times before he lays down. Why? Who the hell knows. So I thought it was funny when the made Brian do the same thing. Also, when he freaked out because of the vacuum cleaner. My big black dog does the same. She'll run far away from it and then right back towards it even though she's scared of it. It makes no sense at all but is hilarious. I like it when they put funny little eveeryday observations like that in episodes.

A final example of something hilarious about Family Guy. This one week my friend and I found this funny weird internet video of a clown running around kicking people in the nuts. The people would be very pissed of and then he'd point to a hidden camera and go "You've just been kicked in the nuts." and suddenly the people would laugh and realize they're on some kind of hidden camera show. Obviously the whole thing was a joke, but here we were thinking this was some random internet video made by someone online and the very next week at the end of a Family Guy episode, out of absolutely nowehere, this clown runs into frame, kicks Peter in the nuts (dropping in to to the ground) and as Peter is in severe pain going "What the hell man!? WHat the hell!?" the clown points to the hidden camera and says "You've just been kicked in the nuts." and then Peter realizes it's a joke, that he's on tv and begins to laugh with the clown. That was so completely random and unexpected that I almost fell off the couch laughing. I never expected to see that clown or the kicked in the nuts thing ever again, but I saw it the very next week in an episode of Family Guy of all things. This makes it seem like the writers are almost like regular funny observant people taking notes on everything going on in the world and seeing who is paying attention. Those of us who are usually find them to be funny.

The Simpsons provides nowhere near the number of laughs Family Guy does IMO and that goes for every single season of The Simpsons. The Simpsons was a great show, but it was NEVER EVER the laugh riot some people make it out to be. Maybe it was back in the day, but by today's standards it's kind of funny sometimes, but it was definitely entertaining and great overall.

I didn't follow The Simpsons as much as everyone else growing up so I have no nostalgic attatchment to the series. I did buy the first 7 seasons (and have seen plenty of the last few seasons as well) and have watched them all. It was great for story telling and was pretty funny, but it never provided the number of gut busting laughs as Family Guy did.

So, the Simpsons wins for storytelling. I'll give them that. Great show. Family Guy wins for laughs. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but that's the way I see it. Family Guy is funnier, The Simpsons tells better stories.

The best compromise is Futurama which is funnier than The Simpsons and tells better stories than Family Guy, but still not as funny overall as Family Guy. Obviously this is all subjective.


BTW, where else can you see people scream, douse themselves in gasoline in a shopping mall and set themselves on fire just to avoid looking at Meg? That's funny shit.

Where else would you see a the lead daughter character buy and wear a shirt that says "Sperm Dumpster"? Obviously making fun of some of the clothes teen girls are wearing nowadays.

clckworang

I agree with saying they aren't as much alike compared to older Simpsons; that was my original point. But Simpsons always had some random pop culture references and such. People see Family Guy as a ripoff because it took many of the same things (pop culture references, brainy character, stupid dad, etc.) and magnified them. For me, the pop culture stuff is the biggest example of an element of The Simpsons being blown up. I don't need a conventional story, but I'd like something besides a series of pop culture references loosely tied together. Robot Chicken does that far better.

Like I said earlier, Simpsons didn't start out this way; it was all about character in the earlier days, which made those seasons so great. Simpsons evolved into what it is today, and I think that has a lot to do with Family Guy's success.

And I'm sorry, but I'd even take current day Simpsons over Family Guy any day of the week. I don't think I've ever cracked a smile watching FG. So many people I know LOVE it, but I just never got the appeal, beginning with the premiere ep that was shown after the Super Bowl many years ago (which I had high hopes for). In fact, unless I was at a friend's house when it was on, I can never get through an entire episode.

Reading your examples of funny things on Family Guy did nothing for me except reinforce that it's a show that will never appeal to me. Maybe things are getting lost in your description, but I didn't think anything of what you described to me was funny at all. I will gladly applaud them for their realistic depcitions of how dogs lay down though. And for the record, I don't get down on Family Guy for making random jokes and references; I get down on Family Guy for making random jokes and references that aren't funny.

RichC2

IMO, the cracks started to show in Season 7 and became established in Season 8 . Seasons 3 - 6 though = classics, and Season 1,2,7 and 8 have some terrific episodes mixed with some pretty weak ones.

The first 7 - 8 seasons of the Simpsons had a great family dynamic, these days that's almost non-existent. I still love the show to no end, and watch it every night, but the quality has definitely suffered in the last decade.

Slayer2005

To each his own.

The premiere episode is a bad example though. It was way better afterwards.

The dogs jokes part I mentioned were only mildy funny because it rings true. The Tara Reid and Meg parts I mentioned were the parts I found gut bustingly hilarious. Of course you might not find the Tara Reid joke funny unless of course you've seen her topless photos, so the joke would've went over your head if you have not. The Meg parts should be funny no matter what, but are even funnier when you follow the series and know her character. She's only slightly unnattractive, but she's treated like Quasimoto on the show (even by her Parents) and to me that's hilarious. It would actually be less funny if she was hideously disfigured. I think it's so funny because it's always so exaggerrated about how ugly she is.

They had a Panic Room episode and and her parents wanted to send Meg out of the panic room where the robbers were so she could get help. She couldn't fit through the vent or whatever so her father, Peter, did not hesitate to spit on her face and lather her up real good. Also, before they went in the Panic room they were upstairs and heard the robbers break in. The all ran out of their rooms. Peter had a baseball bat. He clearly saw Meg for about 5 seconds, then he hit her in the face full force with the baseball bat and said he thought she was someone else.

After meg was sent out of the panic room she met up with the robbers and basically tried to tell them they could have their way with her if they wanted to and she scared off the robbers by coming onto them.

She also once tried to ask a boy out in a woodshop and as he tried to think of an excuse to get out of it he replied "I'm gonna be in the hospital that week." and then took his nail gun and pumped about 3 nails into his stomach leaving him bleeding everywhere on the floor.

How is the "Sperm Dumpster" t-shirt not funny though? It rings so true and is perfect satire. All these teen girls nowadays are walking around with Playboy and Pornstar shirts on in real life. I thought mocking them with a "Sperm Dumpster" t-shirt was perfection. Meg was trying to fit in and be like everyone else at the time. So, it fit perfectly and was made even funnier by the fact that her mother helped her find it and suggested it to her. I have experinece with others who try to be like everyone else and to me that makes the scene all the more funny.

Honestly though, based on your hatred of the series, I think I could probably describe the world's funniest joke and if I said it came from Famiy Guy you'd still say it wasn't funny. So, I don't expect to change your opinion. When someone's mind is set on hating something it's a pretty powerful thing.

Is there anything specifically funny you can remember about the Simpsons? See, for me, I can only recall a handful of really laugh out loud funny scenes. I recall tons of Family Guy scenes/moments though off the top of my head, because their gags are so extreme and brutal that it's almost impossible to forget them. I find even the funniest Simpsons jokes tend to get lost in my memory. There are still few that I can recall though.

Again though. To each his own.

Ky-Fi

Same opinion here---I can't change the channel fast enough when Family Guy comes on. To me, Family Guy is to the Simpsons as Friends was to Seinfeld---a vaguely similar offshoot with a completely different sense of humor which I don't find funny at all.

As far as the Simpsons, I find season 1 (and maybe 2) to be a bit too creaky for me, but other than that, I pretty much enjoy all the seasons, even the recent ones.

clckworang

^^^ I think the Seinfeld/Friends comparison is a really good one. I can totally see that, especially because I didn't like Friends either.

And Slayer2005, I can think of tons of great, funny Simpsons moments. I don't feel the need to recount each one of them here, but I know all of my friends can attest that I'm also spouting off obscure Simpsons lines. A friend of mine who had never really watched Simpsons (I know, I found it weird, too) I've been showing eps to, and I found myself saying before each ep something like, "Oh, this one has one of my favorite lines" or "This was one of my favorite episodes."

And as for the Sperm Dumpster shirt thing. I really wouldn't call it high wit or anything. Very often the best satire is the most subtle, and that's something that I've never seen from this show. And just an FYI, I have seen more episodes than just the premiere. I was just trying to show that I gave it an honest try from the beginning and just couldn't stand it. But like you said, to each his own. I know there are a ton of people that disagree with me because I've had this conversation with plenty of people before.

wergo

season 1 gets a D
season 2 gets a C+
seasons 3-6 get an A+
seasons 7 + 8 get an A-

forthcoming:

seasons 9-11 get a B+
seasons 12 + 13 get a C
seasons 14 + 15 get a D
seasons 16 + 17 get an F

mmconhea

I feel last season was a strong as 5-8.

bunkaroo

I have all these books. They've actually gone all the way up to Season 14 so far. They seem to do 2 seasons at a time in the add on books. It was almost 8 years ago I bought the first one. I know the one for S13-S14 came out last October, so I would guess one covering S15-S16 will come out next year or sooner.

The first one is awesome though-lots of good stuff.

bunkaroo

And for the record, Futurama slaughters Family Guy every day of the week and twice on Sundays.

In the words of Homer....."That show had limitless potential!!!!"

UAIOE

Season 9 is the last season i would even consider buying....beyond that the show was terrible. I still cannot forgive the "Musical season" where it seemed like every character that could break out into a song did.

"Futurama" and "Family Guy" have taken the place of "Simpsons" but for different reasons. "Futurama" for obvious reasons (same creator, great writing & characters) and "Family Guy" because of its own type of humor and random jokes/events.